Stormy Night
by elliey black
Summary: Lily's family has planned a camping trip but what happens when they can't make it to their destination? And whose company is she just going to have to endure until they can? Revised slightly. Do not need to read revisions if you've already read. It doesn't change that much.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Pilot of Sorts

*BOOM*

It was a stupid idea to go camping. You never knew what the weather would be like, no matter what the weatherman said. It was just too unpredictable in England. You couldn't plan anything in advance. It was more spur of the moment weather. Unfortunately for me however, my dad was dead set on it. He apparently didn't care that it was hailing golf-balls and pouring rain out of the sky like it was a child that just lost its favorite plaything.

He didn't even like camping! It was probably just some stupid family bonding ritual he had read in a parenting book with Mum.

I was convinced they were trying to cause me pain.

*CRACK*

I felt cold air, rain, and pieces of hail start to pelt my face with their numbing fingers. I looked around in surprise and saw a huge hole in my window. A particularly large piece of hail was sitting in my lap and another one decided to hit me in the middle of my forehead. "Mum! dad! The hail put a hole in my window! We have got to accept that this camping trip is not going to happen. Because I am not riding in the car like this anymore!"

Dad sighed heavily and nodded. "We'll stop at the next place we see," he said, resigned.

I sent a silent thank you to Merlin then stole Petunia's blanket to cover the hole.

"Hey! Give that back! Use your own blanket, Freak!" Petunia shouted. She reached for the blanket but I moved my body to block her and she ended up scratching my face instead.

"Girls, stop it. there seems to be a house up here with lights on so we'll stop and ask them for the nearest hotel. Can you just...please, hold off on the fighting till then?" Mum asked, frustrated, looking back at us. "Please?" She asked again with big eyes and a plea in her voice.

I gave up right then, but Petunia never did know how to control her mouth. "But my blanket is going to get ruined!" She shrieked. "And it's the one Vernon got me for our two year anniversary," she continued.

I scoffed. "Two years and all he got you was a blanket. Way to be a lousy and pathetic boyfriend, Vernon."

Mum then gave me her death glare. The one that all mum's seem to have when you have truly irritated them.

I closed my mouth before it could say anything else.

"Lily, give her the blanket," Mum said in a fed up voice.

"But I'll get wet and probably lose some brain cells with the way its hailing!" I whined.

It was Petunia's turn to scoff as she mumbled in what she thought was an under her breath tone, "As if you had any to begin with."

Mum just sighed heavily and told me to move to the middle. She turned back around in her seat, clearly fed up with our behavior.

I rolled my eyes and threw Petunia her blanket but decided to brave the loss of my precious brain cells. I was not going to get even closer to her than I already was. I would probably pass out from the fumes of her perfume. But then the car jerked to the left and I went flying into her lap. I let out a very embarrassing squeal of surprise then looked up at her. She was looking at me in disgust so I decided to stay there a little while longer. I began whistling and checking out my surroundings, pretending I couldn't see her or feel her eyes burning through my skull. Slowly, I looked up at her an put on my cheeriest voice to ask, "Well hello! Haven't seen your around here before. Come here often? I'm Lily by the way," and stuck out my hand as if for a hand shake. She rolled her eyes and pushed me back to my seat (which was now soaking) while I snickered the whole way there. She was just so easy to taunt.

Finally, I felt the car start to slow down and looked out the windshield to try and get a good look of the house. I let out an appreciative whistle. The house was huge! It had to have at least eight bedrooms with a fairly large everything else. It had a tower for crying out loud! I always wanted a tower. I sighed. This was my dream house.

We stopped in front of the door and Dad got out to knock. The rest of us stayed in the car and waited in the cold while he asked for directions. He rang the doorbell and waited a little while before someone came to answer. The door swung open but it looked as if no one was behind it. Dad looked around then must have heard something because he looked farther down. My eyes followed him and I saw what looked to be a small person dressed in dirty clothes, standing in front of him. The person however had extremely large ears that tapered out to a point. Which meant that that wasn't a person but a house-elf.

Realizing that Dad was probably very freaked out, I excused myself and climbed out of the car. I walked up to the door and patted Dad on the arm to let him know I had it covered. He nodded with thankful eyes and stepped back a little, letting me do all the talking.

I stooped down and looked at the elf, who I determined to be a girl, and stuck out my hand. "Hi. I'm Lily Evans. Are your..." I faltered, not knowing what to call her "masters" so to speak. "Ummmm...is there someone I can talk to about getting directions?" I asked with a smile. The house-elf looked at me with a confused expression, like she was trying to recall something. She just stood there, so I spoke again. "Ummm...please? We're really cold and wet and need to find someplace soon."

With those words, the elf shook her head as if to clear it, and scurried away quickly. She didn't close the door however, which probably meant that she had left to get someone for us.

And...I knew it was rude, but she had left the door open and there was no one stopping me, so I took a step inside. Immediately, heat washed over my body and I could feel my blood start to circulate to my fingers and toes. I took a deep sigh and turned around to gesture my father in.

He hesitantly placed his foot inside and when nothing bad happened, he stepped fully in. I watched his face relax in much the same way mine had.

*BAM*

I jumped and squealed, looking upstairs, towards the source of the noise, wondering what had made it. I had just come to the simplest of all conclusions (a door slamming), when I heard someone clear their throat, obviously trying to get my attention. I looked around, startled...again, and faced a rather gorgeous couple standing a few feet in front of my father and I.

The woman had amazingly lush, long, black hair that shined and sparkled in the light, with large, twinkling, brown eyes. The man, however, had light brown hair that was starting to show through grey, and angular eyes that were a stormy blue. Or possibly hazel. I couldn't decide which.

Then I realized that I was standing in their foyer, gawking at their appearance with my mouth hanging open. I shook my head to clear my mind and held out my hand.

"Hi. I'm Lily Evans. This is my dad, Paul Evans." The woman firmly took my hand and looked at me with a small hint of recognition.

"Oh! I know who you are. Our son talks about you all the time. I think it's safe to say he's madly in love with you, dear." She let out a tinkling laugh and turned to shake my dads hand.

My mind wandered while Dad explained our situation, to her son could be. Maybe it was that handsome Ravenclaw boy, Michael Baugher, who had the windswept blonde hair and ocean blue eyes that attracted almost every girl in school. Or perhaps it was the devilishly handsome Adam Fletcher from Hufflepuff with the dark brown hair and grass green eyes that always held some deep emotion. I had caught him staring at me a few times...I had narrowed it down to Adam when I heard Dad calling my name.

I blinked and looked up at him. "What?" I asked, a little irritated that he had pulled me out of a daydream in which Adam ran down the stairs, gave me a huge hug, and planted a deep, passionate kiss on my lips...well...a girl could dream, couldn't she?

"Can you go get your mother and sister? These nice people have offered to let us stay the night until the storm passes."

I nodded and trudged out into the rain, running towards the car. I opened my door in the back and started grabbing my things. "You can get your things and start heading in. The couple that lives here is going to let us stay the night or until the storm clears up," I explained while shoving my book in my purse (so it wouldn't get wet) and my blanket up my shirt (again, so it couldn't be hit by the evil rain.) I tugged my suitcase out of the car and slammed the door shut, sprinting towards the house.

I was very winded by the time I got there and had to bend over double to regain my breath. Lily Evans + exercise = bad idea. Finally, I stopped panting and stood up.

"Follow me, Lily, and I'll show you to your room. Then we can go and take care of that scratch on your face," the woman (I realized I still didn't know their names) said, climbing the stairs. I followed her up and was just about to ask for her name when we reached the first landing and all thoughts flew out of my head.

The carpet was shaggy and a light blue while the walls had been painted and very clean white. It seems rather dull but the colors together made the hallway look like an ocean or something. That wasn't what had me dumbfounded though. It was the fact that this was only the second floor and there were at least four doors on each side. There was still the third level (at which it looked like the house ended) and the downstairs to think about. That was a lot of rooms. Why did one couple (and perhaps their only son) need so many rooms? I could understand if you were like the Von Trapp family, but not these people. It was simply a waste.

She must have noticed my halt because she turned around and gave a sort of giggle. "We have a lot of family and they like to visit often. So we just put them up here. It's easier than making them all get a hotel room. Plus, our son likes to have friends over and this way they always have their own room to go to if they're upset or have a different sleeping pattern than most people," she said with a smile.

Then she must have taken in my full appearance because she gave another small giggle. I looked down at myself and realized it looked like I had the biggest food baby in the world. My blanket was still under my shirt. I must have looked awful anyway. My hair sticking to my face, all wet and limp with a big scratch on my cheek. My make-up was probably running in long streams under my eyes too. I pulled the blanket out from my shirt and cleared my throat, a little embarrassed.

She turned around and I followed her retreating back down the hallway. The first door on the right she pointed out as her mysterious son's (that's what I was calling him until I figured out names) room, the second door was where her mysterious son's equally mysterious friend was currently staying. The first door on the left was the master bedroom on this floor. In other words: where my parents would be sleeping. The second door was the main bathroom. The next on the right was apparently too boyish for me, and then the fourth was her sons old play room that they never had the heart to change. The third on the left was where Petunia would be staying, and the last was finally my room. She opened the door and let me in. Well...she tried. I took one look at the place and froze to the spot. It was beautiful. The floor was, thankfully, a shag carpet, the color of wheat and the walls were painted as a mural with tall grass on two sides and breezy wheat on the other two. One of the wheat walls had a barn off in the distance with a windmill beside it and a bunch of horses and cows were scattered throughout the fields. On the grass walls there was an old, quaint farmhouse and little kids running around. The best part? It was painted to look like night time with fireflies glowing softly everywhere.

"We have family that lives on a farm and when they're here they get homesick. In the daytime, the sky turns to blue and the clouds come out with the birds and the sun. It's really pretty when the curtains are open and the sunlight hits it.

My mouth slowly started to water with pleasure. I took another step in and looked at the rest of my surroundings. There was a four poster bed made of dark wood and clothed in bed sheets the color of the sun. The curtains were a light grassy almost forest green and there was a big, dark wood desk sitting under one of the windows. There also happened to be a wardrobe like in Beauty and the Beast that I hopelessly fell in love with.

"So, do you like it? I mean, it's probably for only one night. This storm should let up by morning, but...I want you to have a nice place to sleep. I know James would want you to have this room. He mentioned that you wished you could live on a farm one time. Wow, I can't believe I remember that. It must have been a few years ago," she tinkled with a laugh again.

But I had blocked her out at the mention of the name. "Who...who said that about me?" I asked, trying to reign in the hysteria that was climbing in my body.

She looked at me curiously and cocked her head to one side. "Our son, James. James Potter? I figured you knew..."

I then began to laugh like a crazy person.

A/N: So this is just the beginnings of the story. I'll continue writing if enough people actually like the story. otherwise I see no point...maybe. I'd like at least five reviews but I know those are sometimes hard to come by so...yeah. All constructive criticism in accepted. I'm not going to get upset if you bash on my story. I'm sort of used to it. :) I'll try and have the next chapter posted in the next week. You'll never have to wait more than a week for chapters. Also, just to let you know, I am American. So if there are some things language wise that confuse you because you don't use our slang terms, I'm sorry. You'll have to bear with me because if I try and put it any other way I get confused and it doesn't sound right. I think that's it...so if you read this and plan on reviewing: Thanks! If you at least read it: Thank you also. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I forgot to put this at the beginning of the first chapter. :/ so here it is: I am not, never have been, and never want to be JK Rowling. (Okay, so that last part is a little bit of a lie. But who wouldn't want to be the creator of Harry Potter? That's the true question of life.)

Chapter 2: Storms and Other Things

"I'm sorry," I hiccupped. "It sounded for a minute there as if you said James Potter!" I began another round of hysterical laughing. It was just too bizarre and just my luck! My arch-nemesis spawned from such lovely people and lived in the house I was about to be forced to stay a night in! I took a deep breath and tried to squash all the laughter that was still burning inside me. But I took one look at Mrs. Potter's face and burst. It took me about five minutes to finally get a hold of myself.

"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to laugh," I breathed.

Mrs. Potter (I was never going to get over that) looked at me a little oddly. "Let's go clean your face up," she said, lightly pulling me by the arm out of the room. "How did you come by it anyway?" she asked politely.

"Petunia. She can be a handful sometimes. No pun intended." I sighed. Then realized she had said we were going to go clean it up. Why would we do that? "But couldn't you just…I don't know, heal it with your wand?" I questioned, confused.

"I could but we try to refrain from using magic for simple things such as this. The wound isn't going to kill you so we'll treat it the muggle way," she informed me kindly.

She seriously could NOT have created James Potter! He used magic for everything! He probably used it to brush his teeth. Actually, come to think of it, I had seen him doing that in the common room one morning…

And then it hit me. I was about to stay the night under the same roof as Potter. And it wasn't at school this time! And if I remembered correctly, Mrs. Potter had said something about a friend. Well that could only be-

"Oi! Prongs! Your lady love is walking down your hallway RIGHT NOW!"

Yup. Sirius was here all right, and torturing me already. Oh, why couldn't it have been Remus?

And then his door opened. The one I had been willing to stay shut since I found out who lived in the house. But it flung open and he stood there in the doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of drawstring pants, staring at me like I was the Fountain of Fair Fortune.

Mrs. Potter shoved me gently into the bathroom and just before the door closed she poked her head out and said, "James, sweetie. Go put a shirt on. I was hoping you could show Lily the rest of the house." She smiled and shut the door in his happy assed face.

I tried to groan internally but it must have slipped out a little because Mrs. Potter gave me a strange look. She let it go for a few minutes but she must have been tortured by not knowing because while she was presetting a cotton-ball covered in peroxide to my face, she admitted to it.

"Okay. I can't take it anymore I have got to know why you've looked like a dementor kissed you since you found out who we are."

I winced in pain as she pressed a little hard. I didn't think Petunia had scratched me that bad but I wasn't about to argue with yet another Potter.

"It's just…Pot-James and I…we don't really get along," I tried to explain, looking at her in the mirror.

"Really? James never mentioned anything about that. He normally just talks about…no. I shouldn't say," she said, turning away and letting her hair fall to conceal her face.

"I mean…I've never…I just…oh hell," I mumbled under my breath. "It's just that I don't like your son, Mrs. Potter. I don't know what he's told you but he's not the most well behaved and…I just…I'm a big stickler for the rules," I tried to explain. I mean, I didn't want her to hate me! No matter whom her son was I really liked her.

"I mean…ugh. I am not explaining this in the right way." I threw my hands over my face, hoping to hide the blush I could feel creeping up my neck, and trying to maintain any dignity I had left.

"Oh, darling, it's okay. I know James can be difficult. I've gotten a few too many letters from Professor Dumbledore to make me feel okay about sending him off again. But at the end of the day, he is my son and I love him all the same. He's exactly like his dad and I wouldn't change a thing about either of them. Well…maybe getting them to do a few chores around the house would be nice. I don't like making the house-elves do everything. They work so hard. But you can't pick your family," she said with a knowing smile and a gesture at my face.

Ha. I knew that all too well. There were times when I was super glad I had Petunia but most of the time I wish she would poof out of existence.

Mrs. Potter slapped a band-aid on my cheek and then said she would leave me to my doom. If it wasn't James Potter I was about to face, I would warn her about the doom that is Petunia. But I figured she got the better deal in the end.

I looked at myself in the mirror and cringed at my reflection. My hair was in that awkward 'I'm not dry but I'm not exactly what you'd call damp' faze. I shook it out and tried to make it fall in just the way that it didn't look awful but it wasn't happening. Instead I just stuck it up in a bun, deciding it was best since I was about to sleep anyway. I gave myself one last glance, rolled my eyes at my ridiculousness, and walked out into the hallway to 'face my doom.' But no one was out there.

I considered myself extremely lucky and walked quickly back to my room, chastising myself for checking out my reflection for James Potter! I rolled my eyes (they would probably get stuck one day and I'd forever be blind) and pushed my door open. As soon as I took a step inside I heard him behind me. Dammit.

"Nuh-uh-uh, Evans! What do you think you're doing? Oh wait. I know! You've finally gotten a glimpse of my sexy abs and now you have to go laze around to help burn them in your memory. Well turn around, baby. You can look at them all you want."

I gagged and turned around. "Actually, I was about to go write a letter to Hagrid. I think he'll find that he's missing a couple of his pigs and I'm pretty sure he wants them back," I smirked.

"Oh, Evans," he guffawed. "I think you've lost your touch of witty comebacks. You used that one last year over Christmas break when you saw me and Sirius walking around Diagon Alley." He beamed, obviously impressed that he remembered every miniscule detail about me…again. He had an annoying habit of doing that.

"For your information, Potter," I sneered, "it's Sirius and me, not me and Sirius, and I have not lost my touch! I'm just tired. It's been a long day," I huffed. " Plus, that statement is entirely too accurate. Although, I'm not sure even Hagrid wants you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight."

I tried slamming the door in his face but he stuck his hand through the doorway at the last minute. I didn't have time to react so the door hit his wrist and he yelped loudly. I was glad that I could bring him some pain in his own house. I smiled to myself and finished closing the door as he continued to moan in pain.

I flopped on the bed and sighed. It was even comfier than it looked! I yawned and situated myself for a nice nap. Well, technically a good night's sleep, but whatever. Sleep was sleep! And sleep was good. I crawled under the covers and had just shut my eyes when I felt two large plops at the end of the bed. My eyes snapped open.

In my sleep induced bliss I had blocked out the door being pushed open and James' continued cries of pain. Wow. I was getting good at it. That time it only took a couple seconds! I sat up quickly and looked at James and Sirius's faces. I glared heavily as they tried to give me pure and innocent smiles, hoping they'd get the clue. But I could tell it wasn't happening anytime soon.

"OUT!" I screeched, pointing my finger at the door.

"But, Lily darling, Mother said I had to give you a tour," James responded.

I groaned. I did not want a tour, I wanted sleep! But no amount of glaring and silent hexing was going to get me that. I sighed. "What will it take to get you to leave me alone?"

James put a finger to his chin, pretending to think really hard about it, but he didn't have a brain so that was impossible. "Let me consult with my lawyer first," he finally replied and hopped off the bed, pulling Sirius by the ear.

"Ow! Blimey, Prongs! You'd think I'd actually have done something!" Sirius whined all the way out the door which James closed with a loud thud.

I grinned, accomplished with myself for outsmarting him, and curled up under the covers. I closed my eyes and returned to my daydreams about Adam. I was still hoping this was all a nightmare. I finally reached the limbo of awake and asleep and then slowly crossed the line into completely conked out.

I should've known it was too good to last. *BOOM* Thunder pounded outside my window. I cowered under the covers. I had always hated storms, even when I was little. Something about them just set me on edge. I was okay as long as there were other people with me. But for some reason, the minute I was alone, I got scared again. My parents had finally taken me to a psychologist after a particularly bad one. I was fourteen and should have been more than capable to stay on my own during a storm but the trees were blowing outside my window and the rain and hail hitting the roof was enough to give me a heart attack. Then lightning started sending shocking waves of light across my room and it made me feel like I was in a horror movie. Storms always made me feel like something bad was going to happen.

So that night, I gathered my bed things and snuck into my parents' room to sleep on the mini couch they kept in there, but thunder boomed throughout the house and I jumped into their bed, hiding in-between them. My mum rolled over and tried to coax me back to my room but I was frozen in terror. Finally she gave up after telling me that we were going to fix this.

Now normally I would have fallen asleep right then but the thunder kept pounding and the lightning kept striking so hard that I cowered under the covers for the rest of the night and didn't get to sleep until the storm had stopped the next morning. My parents contacted a psychologist friend of theirs from school and set up an appointment with me for the next day.

All in all, he didn't help much. He passed it off as some faze that I was just taking more time than usual to grow out of. Give me a few years and I wouldn't even notice it was storming anymore. But it had been three and I still couldn't sleep. And tonight was no exception.

I bolted up in my bed and hugged my pillow tightly to my chest. I jumped every time thunder clapped and slammed my eyelids down as soon as I thought lighting was going to arc through the window. I didn't want to see the creeping shadows that haunted my dreams. I buried my head in my pillow and thought about how this night had been completely unexpected. And then I realized that James had never awoken me to negotiate. Strange. I thought he would have jumped at the chance of me giving him something if he left me alone. I guess he might have had a nice bone from his mum somewhere in his body. Oh well. Didn't matter now.

Maybe I could go crawl in bed with my parents. Anything to not be alone. I gathered what was left of my Gryffindor pride and threw it out the window. I ran for the door, blanket and pillow in tow, and bolted down the hallway. I tried to be as quiet as possible which was made easier by the carpet but my heart was beating so loudly and I was panting heavily so I was sure I would end up waking someone up. I stood outside the door to my parents' room and tried to calm my racing heart. But whenever it calmed down enough to enter the room, thunder rang in my eardrums and it would pick right back up.

After ten minutes I gave up and bolted into the room. It was very spacious and looked more like a suite than a room. But that's all I noticed as my eyes rested on the couch in the living room set up. I tiptoed over to it and laid down quietly. It was very soft and I sunk right in. I laid my cover on top and curled onto my side, facing my parents so I would know there was someone with me.

After a while, I finally calmed down enough to realize how incredibly stupid I was. I was 17 years old for crying out loud! I didn't need my parents to make me feel better during a storm. What would James and Sirius say when they found out? My eyes widened in the dark. Their whole lives seemed to be based on ruining mine. If they knew I was in here they would hold my biggest secret and could get me to do whatever they wanted. Even, Merlin forbid, going out with James! I shuddered. I wouldn't be able to live with that!

I picked up the little of my courage that was swimming on the floor and got off the couch to head back to my room. But lightning decided to shine through the curtains at that exact moment and I flung myself back down on the couch. Once the next bout of thunder and lightning ended, I slowly stood up again. I made it all the way to the door and even though I heard more thunder, I didn't run back to the couch. Instead I ran in the opposite direction and made it out into the hallway.

I stood there until another burst of storm propelled me farther in the dark. I couldn't see much, just shapes so when I finally reached a door I thought it was mine. But on closer inspection, I found I still had two doors to go. I was standing outside the bathroom. And then I remembered hearing something about tornadoes. If there was ever one close to you, you needed to hide in the bathroom or somewhere like it, because it was most likely the middle of the house and wouldn't be harmed as much. I didn't know if there would be any tornadoes but I figured this room would be a safe place to hide for a while.

I smiled and reached for the handle but it had already started turning. I pulled my hand back in surprise and watched with horrified eyes as I was almost knocked over by the envious, delirium filled, half-asleep, James.

A/N: ah. So chapter two is done and now maybe my arm will stop hurting from trying to hold the pages down so I could type them. Thanks for the reviews everyone who did review. And to those who read it, thank you also! So I guess that Wednesdays will be my official posting days. Which works out really well because during school those will be the only afternoons I have off from rehearsal! And they're early outs. *sigh* I can't wait. So, if you saw a couple 'moms' instead of 'mums' sorry for my American-ess. It's a habit. I'm just glad that I didn't say mama. Hahahahahahahaha….*falters off* yeah. I'm not funny. So I shall stop trying to be. If there's anything you found wrong, please tell me. I really don't like being wrong. It's a really bad feeling. So….yeah….I think that's it.

-Marah


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter but the merchandise...which I obsessively own a lot of...

A/N: I originally had this all typed up on my computer back home but FanFiction there was being a bit of a jerk and wouldn't let me access anything. And now I'm no where near that computer and have to type it all again. So if it's not good it's because I'm trying to piece it together. Bear with me.

Chapter Three: The Tour

I squeaked and started to fall backwards when two strong hands gripped me around the upper arms and straightened me out. I stood there, trying to catch my breath from the terrifying moment. When I was no longer panicking I came to my senses and realized that I had grabbed on to James' waist, helping him balance me. I pulled my hands back to my sides and shrugged his hands off of my shoulders.

"Are you o-," he started to say but I cut him off.

"Watch where you're going, Potter. Otherwise you'll give someone a heart attack with that face of yours," I seethed. I wasn't really angry with him. I was more angry at myself for letting him catch me that off guard.

"Oh. It's you," he said.

"Ummm...yeah? What do I look like, a hippogriff?"

"Glasses, Evans," he told me, pointing at his eyes.

I finally noticed that he wasn't wearing those said glasses. I wish I would have noticed that before. I would have pretended to be Petunia or someone. Then I could have saved myself the embarrassment of wandering around with my blanket and pillow late at night. I must have been quiet long enough for him to engage what my reaction was. Which, to be quite honest, I didn't even know what my reaction was.

"Uh-huh. So what are you doing outside the bathroom at two in the morning, besides waking me up more than I wanted to be?" he interrogated.

"Same reason as you I suppose. To go pee," I lied.

"If that's the case then why do you have what feels like a pillow and a blanket with you?"

I was flabbergasted as to how he knew that. My mouth flopped open like a fish as I tried to think of a plausible excuse. Then he started to chuckle as if he had just figured something out.

"You're scared of the storm!" He laughed a little harder at the fact. "I can't believe I forgot."

"Woah! Hold up. First: I'm seventeen. I am not scared of the storm. Second: even if I were how would you 'forget' that?" I asked, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. It wasn't the storm that was freaking me out anymore. Even if it was James Potter that I had for company, I still had someone. It was amazing how one person could banish my childish fears. No, I was scared that he knew my secret. No one knew except Mum and Dad. Well, Petunia knew too but I didn't count her as a person.

"I know that you're scared of storms because when you sit in the common room, and you think you're alone during one, you jump and whimper every time you hear thunder and you bury your head in pillows when lightning strikes. You're absolutely terrified," he told me smugly.

He was right. I hated having homework to do during storms because I didn't want to keep the other girls in my dorm up with a light so I did it in the common room. I felt a little sick at this. But I also felt oddly relieved since someone else knew. And they hadn't blurted it out to the whole word. Even if that person was James, someone knew. But why hadn't he told people? I'd figure that out later.

"You pervert! You spy on me? That's just pathetic, Potter," I snickered.

"That-what-no-I-ugh. You are insufferable, you know that, right? You call me egotistical but you are too! Any normal person would have assumed that I had forgotten something or something else along those lines. But you think that all I care about is you. So you go and make up these wild stories of me being a Peeping Tom! Well you know what? I'm done. I will not try to make the girl of my dreams go out with me if I just get accused for something that I find utterly repulsive. We're through, Evans." And with that he stormed off down the hall to his bedroom.

I couldn't help but follow him. If he left I would be alone again and at complete mercy to the storm. Plus, he was never allowed to have the last word. That was my part! "We were never even on, Potter. You can't end something that hasn't begun. And yes, I was accusing you of being a Peeping Tom. Because you made it sound like you had seen me multiple times and no one forgets a book that much," I informed him.

He spun around on his heel and towered over me. "For your information, Evans, I see you every night during a storm because just like you, I'm terrified of them! So I sit out in the common room where there's light and no one to wake up. But I didn't want people to find out so I hid under my invisibility cloak and let you carry on studying instead of interrupting you like I wanted to so many times! So excuse me for having some courtesy," he fumed. His nostrils were flaring and his eyes were narrowed. From anger or poor eye sight, I couldn't tell.

"Oh," I said, taking a step back and cursing myself for being a prat. "Sorry. I didn't realize...," didn't realize what? That he was a gentleman? Or that I wasn't the only one that was scared of storms?

"Exactly." He started stalking back to his bedroom, and still I ran after him. I couldn't believe what I was about to do. It was completely against my morals.

"Wait! If you're scared of them too then...can we wait it out together? I don't know about you but being around people calms me down. I was actually on my way back to my room from my parents when you ran into me. I had to convince myself I was being ridiculous," I confessed. I figured that if I let him know the truth about how scared I was to be alone, he wouldn't leave me alone.

He turned back, not bothering to hide the astonished look on his face. "Did Lily Evans, as in the Lily Evans, just ask me to stay with her because of a storm? Wow. I never would have thought this day would come," he said.

I rolled my eyes (maybe there was some kind of spell or medicine that would keep me from doing that). "I just don't want you to be alone during a storm. We wouldn't you to go even more bonkers than you already are," I smirked.

"Uh-huh So is that why you just let me know that you still sleep with your parents during one? I at least have the decency to just stay up by myself," he smirked right back, crossing his arms over his chest.

I let out a huge sigh. I desperately needed company. "Okay. You're right. I would feel loads better if you would just stay up with me until it passes. Will you stay up with me? Please?" I whispered in my most pleading tone. I looked up at him through my eyelashes to gauge his reaction. He seemed to be deeply debating it.

Finally, he let out a huge breath and said, "Dammit, Evans! You know I can't resist you when you sound so helpless! Fine. We can hang out until it's over. Just...let me put a shirt on. Then I'll give you that tour from before."

I heaved a sigh of relief as he disappeared behind his door. However, I was surprised by this James. He almost gave up time with me that I was willingly handing over and then he decided to put his own shirt on! Without even being told! He must be losing his mind. I chuckled to myself which earned me a look from James, who had just emerged, that clearly questioned my sanity. And maybe I should have been too. I had just asked Potter to stay with me! Was it a full moon or something?

I shook my head at him and he beckoned me down the hall. We came to the top of the stairs and then stopped. He turned to face me with a look that said "here goes nothing" and reached for my hand. I tried to pull it away before he could grab hold of it but his Quidditch reflexes kicked in and before I noticed it his was firmly gripping mine. I tugged and tugged but he was just too strong.

"Lily! Calm down for a minute! Let me explain," he pleaded. I glared at him for a few moments then urged him to continue. "Okay. Now, the stairs are squeaky and so I need you to stay close behind me unless you want to wake the whole house up. And the only way I can ensure you do that is by guiding you," he explained.

"Okay," I said, closing my eyes and trying to ignore the butterflies that had unfortunately popped up. And this wasn't the first time. I took a few deep breaths then let him whisk me up the stairs as quickly as possible. As soon as we reached the next floor, I wrenched my hand from his grasp. But my hand still tingled from the contact. His face looked a little crestfallen after that. But he steeled himself over and continued down the hallway.

It wasn't as long and didn't hold as many doors as the one below but it was freakishly wide. He pointed to the first door and whispered, "That's Mum and Dad's room. It's connected to the next room," he walked to the next door, "which is a bathroom." The two doors on the left ended up being James' baby room (which I was apparently forbidden to enter) and another guest room. At the end of the hall there was a lone door but when I asked about it, James just looked away and walked back to the stairs. I let him take my hand again and this time we went to the bottom floor.

All I had seen of the downstairs was the foyer, which was huge itself, so I was excited to see the rest of it. I pulled my hand out of his to try and control my stomach and followed him towards what I was assuming was the family room. He gently nudged the door open, obviously trying to keep it from squeaking.

What met my eyes when we entered was not what I had been expecting. I figured it would be decorated in leather furniture or chintz armchairs with antique tables, flowers everywhere, and expensive paintings. But it was far from that. There was a well beaten, comfy looking couch directly in the middle with some lazy-boys on either side. A brown, oak coffee table sat in front of the couch and sported many stains from glasses and drinks. There were also a few scorch marks and what looked to be a child's writing in permanent marker.

"Yeah. I was a bit rowdy as a kid," James laughed nervously when I bent closer to examine the writing. It turned out that it wasn't words, just a bunch of scribbles.

"Why didn't they remove it," I asked curiously.

"For the same reason they don't get rid of my baby or toy rooms," he explained, embarrassment laced in his voice. "They had me at an older age than most people because of work that they never tried to have another baby. So they tend to keep those things around." I nodded in understanding then continued to look around.

I gasped when I saw the TV resting on an entertainment center directly across from the couch. "You have a TV? But you're wizards!" I exclaimed, astonished.

"Mum and Dad are away a lot for work and they didn't trust other people enough to let me entertain myself without them. So they bought one. I like it. Especially the morning cartoons. They're the only reason I wake up before two," he chuckled. I laughed quietly to myself then followed him through another door.

It was so dark I couldn't even see James in front of me, owing to the jump and squeal of fright when thunder ripped through the quiet house, closely followed by a burst of lightning. And since I couldn't see James, I jumped right into him and ended up pushing him over. He then decided to try and steady himself on my arm and I came crashing down on top of him, letting out another small scream. I felt a sudden uncontrollable shaking underneath me and I looked down to find James laughing.

"You make the cutest noises when you're scared," he said bluntly, pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear. When he continued to move his hand to caress my cheek and my stomach was doing humongous somersaults over and over again, I inhaled sharply and it was as if the world turned upside down. He looked at me with steady hazel eyes that held so much life and wonder in their depths. I stared straight back.

I don't know how long we just laid there but another bolt of lightning broke into my hazy mind and I quickly pushed myself into a sitting position. I put a hand to my face that was suddenly feeling feverish and took some deep, calming breaths as I tried regain control of my emotions. I barley registered when he propped himself up on his elbows and only distantly heard him softly call my name. The walls were spinning and everything seemed to be growing in size while simultaneously closing in on me. I couldn't catch my breath and the sound of James' worried voice was very muffled.

I hadn't had a panic attack since I was 10 and got lost down a dark street I wasn't familiar with after hanging out with Severus. The worst part was that I normally got violently sick afterwards and I really didn't want to vomit all over the floor in front of James. Actually, I didn't want to vomit at all. It was at the top of my list of worst fears along with storms while alone and ladybugs. They were simply creepy.

I stood up, causing everything to spin faster and staggered towards the stairs, trying to get to the quickest bathroom that I knew of. Unfortunately, stairs, which are tricky in the dark anyways, were ten times harder during my panic induced brain setting. I tripped quite a few times and it took me a good five minutes to get up them. But get up them I did.

I crawled to the bathroom, and without bothering to turn the light on, I headed for the toilet. I lifted the seat up and bent over the clean porcelain bowl. My body started heaving and tears sprung to my eyes.

The remainder of my bathroom expedition is too horrible to recall but afterwards I laid curled around the base of the toilet, holding my arms around myself as I cried silent sobs of fear, panic, and confusion. I must have blacked out, because one minute I was on the floor, and the next I was halfway down the hall, held aloft in someone's arms. I curled into the warm chest and continued to cry.

A/N: So there it is. Chapter three. And this time I'll actually be able to upload it! I'm pretty excited. Thanks everyone for the reviews, alerts, and favorites. It means a lot. :) Also, if I get too bored tonight I might post the next chapter. I finished writing it last night and it's the longest so far. Which makes sense. It took me practically a month to write it. Well...review please. If I get five more after this chapter maybe I'll decide I have nothing better to do. ;) Bye for now!

Marah:)


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: there's no creative way to say I don't own it anymore. just sad ways. :(

A/N: lol. okay. so I decided to stay and update rather than go play with my baby cousins. thanks to everyone who reviewed. it means a lot and I probably wouldn't be typing this up right now if you hadn't oh so kindly demanded it from me. :) love you all lots!

Chapter 4: Untitled (because I can't think of a good enough name right now.)

The arms that were wrapped around me gently laid me on a comfy bed with well worn sheets. I curled into a ball and buried my head into the pillow, taking some strange comfort in the familiar smell of the boy I hated.

I had finally stopped crying and was just mulling over my panic attack when I felt the other side of the bed dip under the weight of another body. He pulled the covers up over us and encircled me in his arms, rubbing soothing circles on my side and mumbling soothing words against my forehead. I realized that I must have been in an even more pathetic state than I thought because I didn't try to escape. I gave into my butterflies. Or maybe it was the aftershocks of what had happened earlier. I couldn't tell. These feelings kept coming up. They had been since fifth year but I always thought they were feelings of disgust or hatred. After tonight, I wasn't so sure.

While looking down into James' eyes, it hit me harder than ever. I couldn't remember why I hated him. It was like the world had frozen and there was nothing else. Which is so stupid because first: I obviously don't fancy him, second: all he did was call my scream cute (which is sort of rude) and then fixed my hair, and third: He was James bloody Potter! My favorite enemy since we were eleven and he told the school that he had caught me picking my nose (which was so not true!) I couldn't possibly have felt those feelings for him. No. I was just too close and the nausea was worse than ever. That's all it was.

"Then why are you still laying in his bed?" my subconscious taunted me. Good question, mind. And then the answer hit me. I was still scared! Scared of the storm, scared of having another panic attack, scared of projectile vomiting all over again, scared of being left alone, and definitely scared of what my body and heart would feel once I left. What happened if I ended up missing his arms? And that was what terrified me most. The art of falling in love with James Potter.

I started crying all over again, and he continued to comfort me. And the worst part? It felt better than any dream I had had about Adam or Michael. I wrapped my own arms around him and asked Merlin to make him believe it was because of the storm that seemed to be getting louder.

My brain never registered how long we stayed there (which seemed to be happening a lot lately) but it couldn't have been too long because when I poked my head out of the crook of his chest, the room was still blanketed in a rich darkness.

I took some more deep breaths and braced myself for his absence. Slowly I started wiggling out of his arms, pushing against him, hoping he would let go. But he didn't. And I creepily felt glad. Well that had to stop.

"Eww. Potter, get off of me!" I squirmed successfully out of his embrace and schooched to the very edge of the bed. I tried to glare at him in the darkness but I couldn't tell how well it would come across if he couldn't see my face. "Don't touch me, okay? I am perfectly capable of handling myself," I exclaimed indignantly.

He must have seen my glare because I saw his obvious bewilderment. His mouth gaped open like a guppy, trying to form coherent words. Finally he started speaking. "What are you talking about?" he cried in a whisper.

"I think you know. It's sick to try and take advantage of people in their weakened state you know," I hissed.

Again, his mouth gaped. "I can't believe you," he said in a disgusted tone. "You have a full blown panic attack for no apparent reason and I comfort you because you needed it and now I'm sick for trying to 'take advantage of you'? I was trying to be nice! That's what most people want when they're upset! Is for someone to be nice to them! But you just like to toy with people I guess. First Connor, who helped you out when you thought your family had been attacked. You dumped him on his ass the minute you found out they were alright. And then there was Drew who stayed up with you every night for a month when Megan died. And then fifth year, right after Snape, you used me-"

I slapped him across the face. We didn't talk about that. We never agreed on it in so many words but not once had it come up in our history. "We don't talk about that," I sneered through gritted teeth.

"Well we're going to have to talk about it at some point," he bit back stubbornly. "You can't keep using people like this and I especially won't let you use me like that anymore. I can't handle it," he whispered in a defeated voice. He had sat up and was playing with his blanket in his lap, his eyes downcast.

I looked at him hopelessly, though he never noticed. This could not be happening right now. I was supposed to be talking and laughing and altogether keeping my mind off the storm, not talking about awful repressed memories.

"I just...I need to know why," he asked in that same helpless voice. He turned his piercing eyes on me and looked at me with such raw emotion that it took me a few moments to gather my thoughts.

"I don't know," I answered, hoping he wouldn't see through my lie.

"That's not the truth and you know it, Lily," he said.

"How would you know, James? Are you me? Because I really don't think you are," I snapped.

"No. I'm not. But I know what it feels like to have a deep seeded reason as to why you do certain things. Like...picking on everyone at school, or acting like you're better than everyone, or even why you stay up in the middle of the night during a storm," he said lightly, chuckling a little and obviously trying to ease the tension and get me to open up.

But I couldn't. Not to him...not to anyone...ever. "Yeah? Well sometimes people act that way just because that's how they act. There isn't a secret meaning behind everyone's actions," I replied bitterly.

"Fine. Whatever. Believe what you want but do it alone. Because for the second time tonight, I can't stand to look at you." He got up and crossed the room to the door, pulling it open and facing away from me, making good on his word to not look at me.

I gaped, open mouthed at the floor, not believing what was happening. Tears filled my eyes and I slowly got up. Keeping my eyes to the floor I walked through the door. As soon as I left, the door closed behind me and I heard him thump against it and slide down. And if I weren't mistaken, it sounded like he was silently sobbing. This is what broke me. If there weren't sleeping people in the house I would have banged on the door, begging him to let me in. But I settled for sitting on the other side as tears streamed down my face, whispering, "I'm sorry," over and over again.

And it might have been my aching mind but I thought he said, "Me too."

After quite a while I stood up and quietly knocked on the door. He didn't answer so I turned and started walking back towards my room, not caring about the storm anymore, with fresh tears cascading from my eyes like waterfalls. I was just about to open my door when I heard one farther down the hallway open and footsteps rapidly walk toward me.

I looked up, not daring to believe it. Which was good. It was just Sirius heading towards the bathroom. And somehow, I cried even harder.

I turned the knob and walked in. It was exactly as it had been earlier except the children that had been running around the walls now seemed to be sleeping in the farmhouse in the distance. I sighed and turned to close the door when I saw James standing in the way.

He had an intense look in his red, puffy eyes that scared me. We just looked at each other and then he was crashing into me, closing the door behind him.

We fell to the floor as his lips hovered over mine and then he took a sharp breath and smothered me. It wasn't like the gentle kisses he had given me on that night so long ago. No. This one was intense and breathtaking. I had never been kissed like this. It felt like he was literally trying to break me. Everything he felt flew from his mouth on one breath and into me on another. I responded instantly and wrapped my arms around his neck to bring him closer. My body melded to his and soon I couldn't tell who was who we were pushing into each other so hard. I became lightheaded and tried to push him away but he must have had the most amazing lung capacity because he just pushed his lips harder against mine, shoving my mouth open and his tongue inside. Our emotions arched like lightning through our bodies, giving me a new spark. Slowly I realized that the kiss started to taste like salt and finally felt his tears hit my cheeks, mixing and mingling with the ones that were surprisingly running out of my own eyes.

I successfully pushed him away this time and sat up, my hands covering my face so he couldn't see my cry again. He gave an exasperated sigh and scooched over to wrap his arms around me. I tried to pull away but he wasn't having any of that. He buried his face in my hair and tried to quiet me down while trailing his fingers up and down my arm, causing it break out in goose bumps.

Finally, my tears stopped and I could look up at him. My face felt raw and swollen but he looked at me as if he couldn't believe he was near someone so pretty (not to be conceited...that's just how he looked). He pulled me up and started leading me to the door by the hand. I didn't protest. We walked down the hall quietly and I was glad that Sirius seemed to have gone back to bed.

When we got to his room he let go of my hand and motioned for me to sit on his bed, turning on the light. He closed the door and locked it, turning to face me.

I looked at him guiltily. I felt bad for stringing him along. He knew it couldn't work between us but I wasn't helping by snogging him like that. "What was that for?" I asked quietly.

"I wanted one last kiss before I completely ruined us by forcing you to talk. Because you need to, Lily. And truthfully, I think it would benefit both of us," he explained, nervously running a hand repeatedly through his hair.

"Forget it, James. I'm not talking about it," I said, stubbornly.

"Yes, you are. If you don't talk to me than I'll tell everyone about fifth year," he bribed.

I gasped. "You wouldn't! You can't! I won't let you," I told him defiantly.

"Oh, I can and I will," he glared at me. "So start talking before I go and wake up Sirius."

"James, why do you want to know so bad?"

"Because you owe it to me. I'm not going to comfort you if you don't give me anything. And because I know that everyone needs to talk about something."

"I can't believe you're making me do this." I glared at him steadily for a few minutes, wondering which one of us would break first. He just stared right back, unyielding. It looked like it was going to be me. I sighed heavily and said, "Fine. I'll tell you what's wrong with me, because apparently something is."

"I never said that," he pointed out.

"Shutup. If you want me to tell you you're not allowed to talk," I said. He snapped his mouth closed and sat on the floor in front of me. I took a deep breath and began.

A/N: So...in my journal (which is where I originally write everything) I didn't stop at this point. But I feel that I need to. :) so you're getting this and I'll update the rest tomorrow. Plus my neck hurts. and my sister just got home which means I have to relinquish the computer. Sorry if this chapter seems a little choppy, by the way. I had it written it out and then I changed some things when I continued writing it but I hadn't revised this part to fit it until just now. :p hope you all like it! Reviews are welcome. actually...they're needed. no pressure or anything. I'll just take away all the cookies I baked for you though.

marah:)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: you know the drill

A/N: thanks to everyone for the wonderful reviews! they keep me interested in my own story. I don't think I've read a new fanfic in about a week which is prolly good for me. but that's what you get when you can't stop writing one. :)

Chapter 5: Lily's Tale

"When I was really little, like five or so, my dad left." I looked at the ceiling, trying to find something to distract me and to keep more tears from coming. I was sick of crying.

"None of us really know why. It happened one night during a bad storm at midnight. He packed his stuff while we were sleeping and left a note for Mum. All it said was

'I can't do this anymore. I'll always love you. Kiss the girls for me every night and make sure they know I love them.'

Mum doesn't know I read the note. I found it a couple of years ago when I was looking for an old letter from Megan. She probably thinks I don't remember it at all. But it's implanted in my mind.

I remember him coming into my room and kissing me before he left. I didn't know what was going on till the next day when I woke up to my mum crying. She was depressed for years. She cried every night, didn't really talk to Petunia or me.

Then when I turned ten she found Paul and started getting happy again. It only took them a handful of months to decide to get married. But they just did it in the courthouse. Mum didn't want to go through another big event type wedding. Then Paul adopted Petunia and I. That's why our last name is the same. He's been a better father than our real one ever was.

But ever since that night I've been scared of storms. No one knows why but me. I never told mum that I woke up that night. I don't think she remembers anything from that night honestly. But...whenever a storm rolls in I have to be with people because I don't want to be left behind again. It's an awful feeling knowing that the people you love and who are supposed to love you no matter what, can just walk away with out any feelings of guilt. I mean...he never sent birthday cards, he never came to visit...he didn't even try to fight for Petunia and I when they got divorced. She sent the papers his way and he sent them back all signed and clean. But that was it. No contact since then.

And that's why I drop people before too long. I can't...I can't have that happen again. You have no idea the kind of pain it brings to know that you weren't good enough for your own father even. And I can't have other people thinking the same thing and leaving. I won't survive it this time," I ended, trying to keep the emotions from crawling up my throat. All of this crying was giving me a headache.

We sat in silence for quite some time. I wish I could have told what he was thinking. Ever since fifth year, he was the one person I wanted to tell that story to most. Because what he did for me that day was amazing. I might have still hated him but I was grateful that he was there for me when I was once again abandoned. That night was so vivid in my mind...

~Flashback~

How could he do that? We were friends! Why would he call me that? It's not fair. He was my friend first but because of his stupid Slytherin friends I've now lost one of the few people closest to me. What am I supposed to do now?

I cried harder than I ever had. Harder than the first time Petunia called me a freak. Harder than when Megan died. Even harder than when my father left. I couldn't bear it. I laid snuggled up on my four poster bed, squashing my pillow into my face to try and take some noise out of my wailing sobs. I had stayed up here all through dinner and the party downstairs in honor of the end of OWLS. But now it was three in the morning and all of my roommates were trying to sleep. I could sense them tossing and turning because of my crying.

They had tried to calm me down and put me in a good mood but it wasn't going to work. I had never told them about my dad because I felt sick and ashamed every time I thought about it. What if they figured there was something so wrong with me that even my father couldn't stand me so they needed to abandon me too? So there was only one person in the world who I trusted my secret with and now he abandoned me too. Even after he promised he wouldn't.

Finally, they gave up and just tried to sleep. But I was making it near impossible. So with my pillow against my face, I grabbed my favorite blanket and slowly made my way to the common room. It appeared to be empty so I curled up on the couch and continued sobbing.

After a while I felt someone standing behind the couch and turned around to see who it was. I first noticed the brilliant hazel eyes behind the round spectacles, then the scar above his lip that had always been there, and then the messy, tousled black hair that James basically trademarked. My heart stopped beating when I saw the worry and the longing in his eyes. This was the first time I had ever felt those feelings. I boiled it down to gratitude and loneliness that night.

He silently whispered my name, bringing it up at the end as though in a question. I nodded, knowing what he meant. He came around to my side of the couch and I slowly lifted the top half of my body so he could slide underneath. When he seemed to be settled, I laid my head on his lap and let out a huge breath. This was what I needed. Not to be talked to with pity or people trying to cheer me up. All I needed was someone to sit with me while I cried.

He gently started playing with my hair and I could feel some of the stress ease out of my body. It took me a while, but I eventually stopped crying. I'm sure James knew but he continued to play with my hair as we gazed into the fire that only held a few glowing embers.

In that time, I thought about a lot of things. Who was I going to go to when I needed to complain about Potter and his gaggle of Marauders? Who was going to make me laugh when I was stressed about exams? Who was I supposed to hang out with at home while Petunia was at her bulldozer of a boyfriends' house? These thoughts filled my mind along with the emotions that James was stirring up in me. I refused to believe it was anything other than the fact that I was lonely and he was caring. But it was the first time I realized he might actually be a gentleman and care for me.

He was rubbing soothing circles in my back and without thinking about it, I scooched up into a sitting position on his lap and leaned forward, pressing my lips to his. I knew I had taken him by surprise because he didn't react immediately. He took a while to wrap his head around it and then pushed me backwards on the couch to deepen our kiss. Our limbs eventually got tangled and I could feel him smiling the whole time.

After what seemed like ages, he pulled back and just stared at me with an intense emotion that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I rolled my eyes and smiled up at him. He started to place light kisses all over my face and I sighed in happiness.

Who knew I could be this elated with Potter touching me? And for the third time that night, those feelings hit me. They couldn't possibly be gratitude anymore but I pushed them down and ignored them. Right now, I just wanted to be happy. I didn't want to think about anything other than James' lips.

And then it hit me. This was James Potter! And I was Lily Evans. What we were doing was wrong. I despised him! This wasn't supposed to happen, even if it was making me happy. But I felt too content to actually leave. So I cuddled into his arms and we watched the fire until we drifted asleep.

I ended up waking up at five in the morning and decided I couldn't let people see us like this. I had gotten what I wanted. I was happy. But with him it could be gone just as easily as it had come. So I quietly slipped upstairs and went through the end of the school year (and the next one as a matter of fact) as usual. But I never forgot the haunted look that was hidden in his eyes every time I looked at him.

~End of Flashback~

Even while stuck in the past, James' face never changed expression and I never figured out what he was thinking. So we sat there.

And we sat there...

And sat there some more.

I barley registered the sounds of the storm. He continued to look at me and not until the sky started to lighten outside, even with the storm raging on, did he speak.

"Lily, you are the most idiotic person I have ever met."

A/N: So this was the original ending of last chapter. Which means this chapter is the shortest one yet. But that's because I haven't got all of chapter six mapped out and I'd like to do that before continuing. So after this is posted I'll prolly goof around on the computer and then go finish writing it. Which means you may just have another chapter by the end of the night. ;) no promises. it really depends on what my dad has planned for the day. Well, I hope you liked it. I don't know what to feel about it. Again, there may be some hiccups in there that don't quite add up with the rest but it's because as I type it up and then write it down things change and I have to fix things that I didn't remember putting in. It's a difficult process. And I don't really like Lily's story...I feel like it should be longer or more emotional...I don't know. Just tell me what you think! Good or bad. It's all the same to me. Bad actually helps most of the time because then I know what to fix. But good reviews are always nice and keep me motivated...just review. That's basically all I want. See you guys later tonight...maybe.

Marah:)


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I'm thinking you get the point and maybe I can just stop these now?

A/N: Before we begin I would like to let the people who have wondered who Megan is, know exactly who Megan is. Megan is just Lily's girl best friend. I couldn't think while I was typing it whether I wanted to go with it being AU and she had a random best friend that no one knew about or if I wanted to go with someone else. I saved myself the trouble and went with one of my own friends. I know that she's not an actual character but I...well I don't really know. Her name is Megan, she was Lily's best friend and now she's dead. That's about how far I planned ahead with her. Maybe we'll find out more about her later...I haven't decided yet. So...yeah. I'll just write the story now.

Chapter 6: ...I Can't Come Up With a Good Chapter Title

It was like a slap in the face. I had just spilled my story to this boy and he called me idiotic? I felt more tears welling up in my eyes and I turned my face to hide them from him. "Oh. No! That's not what I meant, Lily! No!" he sounded genuinely sorry so I turned back to him.

"Well what did you mean then?" I tried to ask but it came out all choked up from trying to hold back my sob.

"I just meant that after several years of me continually asking you out, you think I'm going to give up on you? I didn't exactly keep asking just so I could get rejected."

"Well...what about all those other girls? You seemed to forget me just fine then."

"All rumors," he said, taking my hand. "They all got angry when I told them no so they just kept piling on the lies. I mean, I didn't exactly stop them but mostly because I didn't care. I knew the truth. And I knew that you would believe them over me. That's probably why they did it. But believe me, I never once said yes."

I didn't know what to say. I mean...what did this mean? Did he actually like me? It wasn't all some game to him? Then the feelings came back. But this time I didn't try to push them down. I embraced them and their full meaning. I liked James Potter. As soon as I said the words in my head, I felt relieved. It was like this great pressure had been building up in my head and now it was gone.

But what if he abandons you? my mind questioned.

Well I would just have to take the risk, right? That's what happened in relationships wasn't it? Well then we would just have to start out slow. Like...really slow. The just friends type of slow.

He must have sensed my resolve breaking because he leaned in to kiss me. This time it was gentle and done with great care. And I wanted to kiss back, I really did. But we couldn't start off like this. It was just too much and my nerves couldn't handle it.

I put my hand against his chest and pushed away. "James...I don't think I can start like this. I've never really had a trustworthy relationship and I just need to know that you aren't going to run away because you finally have me."

He groaned in frustration. "Did you not hear me, Lily? Do I have to spell it out? I love you," he said.

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. My dad loved my mum and Petunia and me. But he still left. So, I'm proposing something. Why don't we try to be friends first? We can't go from always fighting to always snogging in one night. We would eventually burn out and you'd leave anyway. Don't say you won't. You don't know and I can't take the risk," I said when he started to protest.

"Fine," he sighed. "We'll start out as friends. But does that mean we'll eventually try to be more?" he asked hopefully.

"Maybe, James. I just have to know you won't leave once you know the real me."

"Okay."

"Good. Now, I suggest we get some sleep before the rest of the house wakes up," I chuckled. It was light enough outside that you could tell it was at least five. Even if it was storming.

He laughed quietly. "Yeah. You're right. My parents will make me get up super early since we have guests. Dammit, Lily! Why my house? I'm going to miss out on a perfectly good day to waste," he exclaimed, shoving me a little.

"It's not my fault that hail decided to break my window!" I said, shoving him back playfully.

"Well why didn't you just repair it?" he asked, confused.

"Because my parents took my wand for the rest of vacation," I grumbled. "They said we were living like true muggles this time."

"Aww. Is the wittle Wiwy sad that she doesn't have her wand," he mocked in baby talk.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am!" I was really going to like being his friend.

"Eh. I probably would too," he chuckled, shrugging. "Come on. I'll walk you to your room." He stood up and held out his hand for me.

"Ummm...it's still storming and no one else is up. It's not light enough outside to be by myself," I admitted shyly, pulling my knees to my chest. I hated how scared and immature I sounded.

"Well...then you can take the bed and I'll take the floor," he said, leaning over me to grab his pillow.

But I pulled him down and made him fall onto the bed in front of me. "No. You can sleep up here with me. That's what friends are for, right? To comfort the scared ones?" I batted my eyelashes, hoping he'd stay. We might be starting off as friends but I still liked him and wanted him close to me.

He sighed again and rolled to lay on his side of the bed, facing me. I snuggled closer and closed my eyes. I guess I didn't realize how tired I was because I instantly started to fall asleep. But I did manage to stay awake enough to feel James unwrap himself from me and slide to the floor. Just not enough to stop him.

When I woke up it was to the bedroom door slamming against the wall and a harsh voice calling out, "Hey, Prongs! Did you know Evans is in your bed?"

At the mention of where I was at I jumped up and looked for the source of the noise. Sirius was standing in the doorway, staring at me incredulously. I didn't know what to say. I was pretty dumbfounded by it all too.

And then the events from earlier came rushing and I remembered why exactly I was in James' bed. But I couldn't tell Sirius that! He'd just run off and tell everyone else! So I just sat there, blushing like a madwoman and twiddling my thumbs, looking everywhere but at either of the boys.

"Prongsie! Are you even awake? How could you be missing this momentous occasion?" Sirius asked.

James' head popped up from the side of the bed. Bleary eyed and dazed he just looked around the room.

"Oh. Good. You're awake now-," Mrs. Potter had started to enter the room, assuming that James was awake because Sirius was standing there apparently. She must not have heard Sirius wake us up. She stared from me, clad in a t-shirt and boxers (my own thank you very much) to James who was looking quite as confused as the other two.

"What is going on in here?" she asked, somewhat shrilly, obviously worried about her baby boys' dignity. "Lily. I thought you told me that you don't get alone with him."

"I did say that, yes, but-" she cut me off before I could finish.

"So what are you doing in my son's bed?" she shrieked.

I winced. She probably had reached the whole house with that voice. I was giving it five seconds before my own mother ran in. Oh look. There she was.

She stared at me with a crazed expression. I was so overwhelmed that my mouth just hung open. Mum must not have remembered my storm fears. Otherwise she would probably understand. Or at least a little bit more than Mrs. Potter. She was probably wondering why I wasn't in her room though.

James finally realized what was going on and started to explain very rapidly about what happened...he just left some things out. He told them that we were both up late because of the storm and decided to talk civil to each other so we could establish a firm base on which to be friends because neither of us wanted to go into our final year with hateful feelings. And then before we knew it we had fallen asleep. But James had woken up and decided to move to the floor rather than waking me up.

Okay. So it wasn't exactly the truth but it was a nice lie! And we had decided to be friends...it was just friends with the possibility that it could turn into something more. But we weren't telling anyone that.

The whole time he was explaining I looked around his room. Even though I had spent all night in it I hadn't really taken notice of it. His walls were forest green and had posters of Quidditch players plastered all around them. But mixed in with those he had a few posters that seemed to be muggle. There was a soccer poster on the back of his door, a few posters of Californian surfers, quite a few of hockey, and even a couple of girls in bikinis. These made me want to groan in disgust and made my heart tighten with jealousy. But that wasn't allowed. We were just friends for now. He had every right to have those posters up.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop me from fantasizing about ripping them to shreds.

"Lily, what are you glaring at?" my moms voice asked, breaking me out of my perfectly happy daydream.

I jumped in surprise, having forgotten they were there, and looked around the room at all the faces. James was giving me a confused smile. His mother seemed to have gotten over her possibly being defiled and had her mouth turned up in a knowing smile. My mum seemed to be a little worried about my mental health. And Sirius...well, he was smirking at me in a way that made me feel like he knew everything that had happened.

"I...I...I saw he had posters of the Chicago Blackhawks up when everyone knows that the St. Louis Blues are the best," I lied, unconvincingly. To me at least. James and Mum bought it in two seconds. Sirius and Mrs. Potter on the other hand, seemed to be rolling their eyes.

"That is so not-" Sirius started to say. But he was cut off by Mrs. Potter kicking him in the shin. "Bloody hell, woman! What was that for?" Sirius screamed.

That was evidently the wrong thing to say. Mrs. Potter glared at him in only the way a mother can and pointed her finger down the hall towards his room. Without even saying anything he slouched off, shoulders slumped and head hung in guilt.

I couldn't help but laugh which caused the dam holding James' laugher up to break. Mrs. Potter smiled, pleased with her mothering skills and turned back to us. "Well now that that's settled, we came up here to give you some news," she said, her smile growing wider. "We fixed the window on the car but it's still storming like crazy outside so you can't go camping," she directed at me.

Then Mum spoke up. "We were going to stay in a hotel but apparently there's a big wedding going on and there are no available rooms around here. So then Scott and Amelia were nice enough to let us stay here for the remainder of our vacation. They wanted to know more about our way of life and I wouldn't mind getting to know a little bit more about the life my daughter escapes to every year," she smiled.

They both seemed very giddy about this idea which frightened me a little. What was going on with them? Wait...what? I was spending TWO WEEKS with James Potter, Sirius Black, and Petunia all under one roof? Was the world out to get me? Cause I was pretty sure it was.

I couldn't even say anything. I just stared, open mouthed at the floor. How would I survive? I wouldn't. It was as simple as that.

Distantly I heard Sirius let out a whoop of excitement which meant he had been listening the whole time.

"Well, we haven't told Tuney yet so that's where we're headed next," my mother said, a pained expression on her face.

Ha. She deserved it!

"So you two need to be up and dressed in the next five minutes unless you want to miss lunch too," Mrs. Potter called over her shoulder, following Mum down the hall. "Oh. And we'd appreciate it if you slept in your own, separate rooms for the remainder of your stay," Mrs. Potter smirked, that knowing smile back on her face.

I shook my head in disbelief and looked to James who seemed to be holding back a grin.

"Oh, just go ahead and smile, Potter. I know you want to." And sure enough, his face split into the biggest grin I had ever seen.

"You can't deny that this will be the perfect opportunity to work at being friends," he beamed.

I sighed. He was right. I was just plainly handed the one thing I had decided to work on.

James hopped up on the bed beside me and pulled me into a hug. "It's going to be okay, Lily. I'm not going to leave you," he murmured against my ear, his breath sending tingles down my spine.

These emotions bubbled up in my stomach again and I quickly jumped off the bed to avoid doing something rash. Which I then immediately regretted when I turned around and saw that haunted look flash in his eyes.

"I just need to go get dressed before our mothers come wandering down the hall again," I explained. My stomach gurgled. "And I'm extremely hungry," I admitted.

"Yeah. You're right. We should both get dressed." He stood up and stretched, reaching his arms above his head, letting me see the stretch of skin between his boxers (had he been like that all night?) and his grey, cotton shirt.

I silently sighed wistfully, wishing that I wasn't going about this the hard way. I rolled my eyes at myself and turned to walk out the door.

"Why don't we finish that tour after breakfast since you'll be staying here for a while?" he smirked.

I stopped with my hand on the knob and turned to answer him. What I was going to say, however, I couldn't remember because he had already taken off his shirt and this was the first time I was looking at it with my feelings in the know. I couldn't stop ogling. It was like this big hallelujah moment had descended on me and I didn't know what else to do. Until he chuckled and said, "Just say yes, Evans, and then go get dressed."

I was still slightly dazed when I answered back, "Yes, Evans." I mentally slapped myself silly and rushed out the door before anything else happened and any more articles of clothing came off.

Trying to hide my blush and block out his infuriatingly intoxicating laugh, I walked down the hall. I smiled to myself. Maybe I would just have to imprint that image in my mind. It was a rather good one after all. I shivered. Jeesh. You admit you like him once and immediately your mind is programmed to his perfectly chiseled, tanned abs.

I was almost to my door when I heard another one slam behind me and someone started stomping my way. I turned to see Petunia, nostrils flaring, eyes glaring, heading my way. I barely had time to register her hand in the air before it hit me.

A/N: I really do like these cliffhangers. They keep me writing. :) Well there it is. Chapter six and more interactions with people. I hope you liked it. I had to make the least changes to this one. That was good, because I'm too tired to fix things. So if there are some mess-ups sorry. ...and I was going to say something else but I don't remember what it is. So I think I'm done. No. I'm not. I don't have anything written for chapter seven yet so it may not be updated tomorrow. Or I could decide that the fireworks I've been waiting two months for (not to mention the corn festival) are a waste of my time and write some anyway. I haven't decided yet. Well review! I really like them. They make me giddy. My little sister is annoyed every time I pull her over to the computer to read one but It's just too much fun! So whether it's bad or good, write it down and hit "send review". I like knowing what people have to say to me. Have a good night, day, or morning!

Marah:)


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own the freakishly amazing Harry Potter series but I claim sole credit for getting my friend addicted. :)

A/N: Just a quick little announcement, I'm going to try and get a new chapter posted every day by the end of the night but my cousins are coming in tomorrow and school starts in a week. So if I start to dwindle on my deadlines, that is why.

Chapter (what is it now? 7?) I Think Petunia's Done Lost Her Head

She hit me so hard that I went crashing to the ground. "You little witch!" she shrieked. "This is all your fault! I have to stay with these...these..people because you couldn't handle the rain for just a few more miles until we found a decent hotel! I am sick and tired of you getting your way! Everything you want, you get. 'Daddy, I want a new bike. Daddy, I want to go to witch school. Daddy, I want a pony!' This isn't fair anymore! You got the magical genes and the pretty hair and the gorgeous green eyes and all I got was a stupid, boring life!"

"What's all this about?" I heard James ask from down the hall.

Petunia ignored him and continued screaming at me. "I can't wait till I move out and I never have to see people like you again!"

"Hold up! You can't yell at her like that! It isn't her fault you guys have to stay here. And it's an insult, as well, that you don't want to just because we're 'different,'" James tried to explain.

But she raised her foot back to kick me and I cringed in horror. We had gotten violent before, but only with our hands. We never attempted to hurt each other like that.

I sat there, waiting for the impact, trying to find some way to cope with it all, but it never came. Instead I heard a shriek and looked behind me to see Petunia, arms flailing, trying not to fall over. James had hit her with a leg locker curse. She leant against the wall to hold herself up and whispered, "You're such an attention seeking whore! You know, he had the right idea when he left. I only wish he would have taken me with him."

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW!" he roared.

"No! She deserves it!" And she proceeded to literally spit on me.

Our voices must have carried downstairs because next second everyone came running down the hallway and Sirius burst out of his room.

"Girls, what's going-" Mum stopped with a gasp when she saw Petunia struggling for her balance again, James with his wand pointed at her, and me, down on the ground, more tears pouring down my cheeks.

"James William Potter, take it off of her right now!" Mrs. Potter commanded.

"Why? She deserves it! She called Lily an awful name and said things that shouldn't have been said!" he fumed.

"That does not mean that you jinx her! She is our guest and a muggle at that! This is no way to settle an argument! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

Taking huge, deep breaths, James lowered his wand and Mr. Potter said the counter-curse. Petunia fell to the ground and James towered over her. "You make me sick," he whispered, venom in his voice.

Petunia cowered in fear and he stalked off to his room before turning around and heading my way. He gave Petunia a wide berth and held out his hand. I gratefully took it and pulled myself up.

My face had a new, freshly bleeding scratch and it was stinging from the salt in my tears. I looked down the hallway, towards the crowd of faces. The Potters were looking at James with disappointment and my parents seemed to be having silent battles over which daughter to comfort. Sirius just looked like he wanted nothing more than a chair and a tub of popcorn.

I let out a sob and ran off towards my bedroom, slammed the door, and collapsed on my bed. I didn't register the door quietly opening and closing until someone sat down next to me. Without caring who it was, I curled up into their side and sobbed relentlessly.

Finally, the tears stopped and I clocked in enough to know that my mum was the one who was currently stroking my hair. I turned to bury my face in her arm and wrap my own around her.

"Can you tell me what happened, sweetie?" she asked quietly.

"I just...I just came to get dressed for breakfast and the next thing I knew she was storming after me. She slapped me and said awful things so James came out and told her to stop. But she didn't and then she tried to kick me. That's why James put that curse on her. He was just protecting me in the only way he knew how."

"What exactly did she say to you?"

"She said that I'm a selfish, attention seeking whore and that...that he left because of me but she wished that he had taken her with him..." I let out another sob.

"Oh, honey. You know that's not true! He didn't leave because of you. We don't know why he left."

"I deserved her to say that though. If it weren't for me going away every year we wouldn't need to plan stupid camping trips and then get stuck with wizards."

"No. You didn't deserve that. And right after I'm done, I'm going to go talk to her. I think a week of absolutely no Vernon when we get home ought to be enough punishment," she said, trying to cheer me up.

It worked a little. I gave her a very watery smile.

She bent down and kissed my forehead, and then the scratch on my cheek. Both of them.

"Why don't you get up, clean off that scratch, and then go get some breakfast. I'm sure those adorable little elves wouldn't mind making something fresh for you. I know how you like breakfast better than lunch anyhow," she smiled.

I nodded. She got up and left to go talk to Petunia but I made no move to change. I knew I wouldn't be alone for long.

James walked in a few minutes later. He had taken a shower and was dressed in tan cargo pants, and a Blue's t-shirt. I rolled my eyes and smiled at him.

"Just because I have posters of the Blackhawks does not mean I don't support the Blues," he said.

I scooted over on the bed, making room for him.

"Lily, I'm really sor-"

"You have nothing to be sorry for, James. I don't like Petunia enough to care whether magic is used on her or not. I'm just thankful you stopped her from kicking me," I laughed breathlessly.

He let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were going to be so angry at me. I was terrified to come in here. That's why I let your mum come first. Well, that and she sort of made me wait. And knowing your temper, I didn't want to get on the wrong side of Mama Bear."

I laughed heartily at his face of absolute terror. "She's actually the calm one out of us. You would've been okay." I patted his arm in mock sympathy. Even after two seconds with this boy I was happy again. It was kind of scary.

I jumped off the bed and walked towards the open door. "Now, I'm going to need you to leave so I can get dressed. Then we'll eat and you can finish your tour," I said, pointing him out the door.

He hopped off the bed and mock saluted me. Aye Aye, Captain Evans! Anything else?"

I giggled. "Not that I can think of. But I'll let you know if something comes up. Now leave! I'm starving!" And I pushed him out the door.

I started pulling clothes out of my suitcase the minute he left, looking for something comfy to wear, when I realized I hadn't taken a shower since the day before. My hair probably looked like shit. So grabbing my comfiest pair of jeans, undies, and a purple tank-top I headed for the bathroom.

Thankfully I made it there without anymore swinging limbs and locked the door behind me to ensure my safety.

The shower was humongous! It had different strategically placed nozzles that shot at you from all sides and a really cool wave like pattern on the walls. It was just a stand up shower, too, so I didn't have to deal with stepping over anything. That was good because my balance really didn't mix well with things like that.

And you know, I thought the shower looked cool but it was nothing compared to the actual act of showering in it. I didn't even mind the glass doors. Until...

"Woah! Prongs! Your girl is naked in here!" Sirius shouted for the whole world.

I was not his girl! "AAHH! Sirius! Get out!" I shrieked, turning around to try and cover myself. But he didn't go anywhere. "Get out before I hex you into oblivion! And I'll make sure your hair is gone if you ever find a way back." I figured that would make him leave so I turned my head to see if he had gone. But he was just standing there, wearing this childlike look on his face and staring at my ass.

He giggled, "I see your buuuut," and then bolted out the door.

"Agh! Why can't anything go right today?" I cried, stepping out of my shower and reaching for my bath towel.

"Sirius, I don't know what you're playing at but it's not nice to-" James stopped when he opened the door.

We both just stood there for a few seconds, not knowing what to do. Then I remembered I was naked and screamed.

He clapped a hand over his eyes and stumbled out, closing the door behind him.

I rushed to lock it and heard him say, "I am so, so sorry, Lily. I thought he was just playing around and left the light on again. He tends to do that you know. I didn't think you'd actually been in there. I didn't see anything though. Well, that's not entirely true. I did see things but it was not on purpose," he rambled.

I groaned in frustration and started getting dressed. As soon as I had finished I threw the door open and saw James still standing there with his hand over his eyes. "James, I'm dressed now. You can look," I grumbled.

He slowly peeked through his fingers and when he saw that I was, in fact, clothed, he lowered his hand, an apologetic look on his face. "I don't know if you heard me but I really am sorry. I wasn't looking on purpose. It's just, you were naked and I didn't know what to do and obviously staring some more isn't exactly the smartest decision but-"

"James," I cut him off, "you're rambling and it's really annoying." But cute, I added to myself. "Now, I'm not going to say I don't care because I really do, but it wasn't your fault. Sirius on the other hand will be lucky if he still has a head by the end of the night," I growled.

He just nodded and then we slipped into an uncomfortable silence.

"...Well, I'm just going to go put these away," I said, holding up my old clothes. "I'll be right back," and I took off down the hallway. James followed me.

"You know, if you want to get him back he normally takes a shower around seven or so. It's right after dinner and he's a messy eater," James told me, a smirk on his face.

At first I didn't understand what he meant. But then I caught on and started laughing. "Thanks. I'll have to remember that. Now, can we go get food? I'm still hungry," I said, depositing my clothes next to my suitcase.

"Oh, sure! After you, Madame," he said in an awful French accent, bowing to me.

"Thank you, Monsieur," I giggled in an equally terrible accent.

He beamed at me and we fell into step on our way to the kitchen.

We walked through the living room, which looked even homier during the day, and headed to the room that had caused problems for us late last night...or this morning? I really never was good at those things.

When he pushed open the door, I got my first good glimpse of the inside. It was only a dining room with expensive looking china placed around the dark mahogany table. There was a gorgeous chandelier hanging above it and a vase full of summer flowers like Asters, Amaranthus', and Alliums (I really liked to garden. I had my own at home!) right under that.

The silence grew uncomfortable as last night/this morning haunted us.

"Well...the kitchen is just through here," he pointed towards the door on the other side of the room, breaking the tension.

I nodded and followed him to the kitchen. I immediately smelt all kinds of delicious things ranging from French toast to BLT's to what seemed to be tonight's dinner; steak with baked potatoes. My mouth started watering as I stared at all the house elves cooking.

James laughed at the look on my face and I glared at him.

"What? I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. We were going to stop for dinner but...well, you know," I said, waving my hand nonchalantly. "I'm just so hungry," I breathed.

"Well what do you want? They can make anything. Lainey!" he called, and one of the tiniest elves wobbled over and bowed deeply. "Stop bowing. You know I don't like it," he said embarrassedly, his cheeks turning a little pink. Ha! So I wasn't the only one who blushed!

She straightened up and squeaked, "What would Mr. Potter and his lady like to eat?"

'His lady?' What was with everyone thinking that we were together?

"We're just friends," James chuckled, looking at me out of the corner of his eyes. "And I would like some French toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon please," he smiled.

Lainey turned to me. "And the miss?"

"Ummm...I'll just have what he's having I guess," I replied, not wanting to cause too much trouble.

He rolled his eyes and headed towards the small, more homely, table on the other side of the room.

I looked down at my feet so I wouldn't trip over any house elves, but my attention was caught by the floor. Yes, the floor. I couldn't help it! It was black and white checkered like a 50's diner! I jumped with glee and squealed.

James turned to look at me. "What is wrong with you?" he asked.

I glared. "For your information, Potter, a lot. But, your floors! They're so cute!" I couldn't stay angry for long. I wanted to lay on the floor and hug it as best as I could.

James turned back to the table muttering something that sounded like 'girls.'

I got a hold of my excitement (which was REALLY hard), and joined him. "When I get my own house, I am sooooooooo having floors like this."

He shook his head at me. "You are one strange person, Lily Evans," he laughed.

"Yes, and?"

"And it makes it really hard not to do this," he said.

A/N: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You're all probably wondering what 'this' is but I'm pretty sure it's not that hard to guess. So...I think this is my favorite chapter so far. I don't know if it's good or well written but it was the best to write! I love floors like that. I couldn't resist. :) Now, if you have any questions, leave a review, pm me. I really have nothing better to do and I obsessively check my account for any new things. So you'll never go long from hearing from me. Umm...I was going to say something! But I don't remember. So, here it is! Chapter Seven. Hope you all enjoyed it! Review please. It makes me happy.

Marah:)


	8. Chapter 8

Okay. I know I'm not supposed to be doing this cause it's against the rules and all that shizz BUT pleaaaaasssseeeeeeeeeee don't get me kicked off. If you love this story like I hope you do, you wont do that. Okay, explanation you ask? Well duh!

Here's what happened. I have to write this play for theatre this semester and I have to direct a scene and I have to worry about the play we're doing and running for officer for theatre and basically trying to improve my life in theatre. Plus…today we found out that a student committed suicide. So it's really stressful. Plus I'm in the middle of moving so I'm staying with my grandparents and they're awful people (if you saw them, you would IMMEDIATELY think Vernon and Petunia. No lie) and their computer for some reason wont let me update. It's rather annoying. So that's my excuse. I know I shouldn't need one. I should just continue writing and trust me, I'm trying. It's just really difficult right now. But I'm glad I got to explain. Can't wait to update (hopefully soon).

MarahJ


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: hey, everyone! I'm glad you came back to read this chapter…if you did come back that is. To all of my old readers: I'm so sorry that this has taken so long to get up. I'm really and truly excruciatingly sorry. I can almost promise it will never happen again. I guess it really just depends on how my year goes. I will have you know however that this story would never have made it anywhere without you. If no one had ever reviewed about how much they loved this story I would never have continued. That's what happened with my last one. Which I think I might post here and see what happens. Who knows. Maybe I'll have two stories…and a play…and English…and lines…for two different things…and a scene to direct…I feel like I have a lot of artistic responsibilities lately. :p but it's okay. I enjoy it. Now…I feel like this has come off as though this is the last chapter. Let me just say, it's not. Trust me. I plan on writing a lot more. I actually have a sequel planned out in my head actually. If you guys want it that is. Now, without further ado! The long awaited chapter. Enjoy. J

Disclaimer: maybe she'll let me own them for my birthday. But I doubt that will happen since it hasn't already. L

Chapter Eight: Of Kitchens and Gardens

Before I knew it he was leaning over the table and grabbing my face in his hands. I tried to pull away but he kept my head firmly in place and touched his lips to mine. My mind was wiped clean.

I reacted with such vigor I'm pretty sure I scared him. I wrapped my arms around his neck as best I could with a table in my way and squeezed my eyes shut.

I was beginning to think every kiss with James Potter was different. This one was loving. Gentle. Passionate. All rolled into one. It was intense enough to keep us there for a long period of time but gentle enough that there was no tongue involved or an overwhelming need for air.

"Hmmmmm," I heard someone clear their throat behind me.

I jumped, effectively pulling my lips away from James. I turned around slowly, highly embarrassed at being caught and saw Mr. Potter standing there, staring at us.

My face went up in flames but he just chuckled and said, "Just be glad I'm the one who caught you. Otherwise you would be gone in a jiffy to a hotel. But if I catch you again, I will tell your mother," he warned, staring pointedly at James.

He gulped and nodded.

"Now, I actually came down to see if you two want to go into town. Diagon Alley, that is. Your mother and I have a party tomorrow night and she wants to get new dress robes," he grimaced. "We invited your parents along as well, Lily. They said yes so they're coming along now."

James and I glanced at each other nervously.

He looked like he wanted to get out of the house as bad as I did. But there was no way in hell I was leaving Petunia and Sirius alone under the same roof.

"Sorry, Mr. Potter, but we're going to pass," I said politely.

He laughed. "Don't want to hang out with your guys' old folks, huh?"

"Oh, no. It's not that," I started to say, but he cut me off, holding up his hand.

"No. It's okay. I wouldn't want to go either if there were more…pleasant activities to participate in," he said, a twinkle in his eyes.

My face blushed scarlet as I realized what pleasant activities he was hinting at.

James shifted uncomfortably in his chair, looking anywhere but at a pair of eyes.

Mr. Potter laughed again. "Just be careful next time, okay kids? Otherwise it might be another pair of eyes witnessing teenage hormones."

And with a pat on James' back, he left through the dining room.

"Well that was highly embarrassing," I said, breaking the silence.

James just nodded.

"You really shouldn't have done that," I said sternly. Again, he just nodded. "We're supposed to be starting out as friends. Friends don't just lean over breakfast and contaminate it with snogging," I added.

He didn't even nod this time.

"James! Can I please get a response from you?" I snapped.

He jerked, turning his hazel eyes on my green ones but he still said nothing.

"What is the matter with you? Have you suddenly gone mute? You like you've just seen a dementor."

He shook his head and sighed. "Sorry. It's just…that's the first time anyone has witnessed us…kissing. It just makes it all the more real," he said quietly, slipping back into his trance like state.

I rolled my eyes. "And it'll the be the last time unless I say otherwise, right?"

…

I swear he had become deaf! "James, please tell me that was a one time thing," I begged. My voice must have gotten to him because he slowly turned to me.

"Yeah, Lily. That was a one time thing. Not gonna happen again," he said, toneless.

I sighed. "James, that's not what I meant. But I told you that I need to know that you're not going to leave me the instant you have me. And it'll give us a chance to get to know each other without jumping right into a relationship."

"I know, I just…I couldn't help myself. But let's eat before we have to take care of the crazy nutheads upstairs," he chuckled, digging into his French toast.

We ate in silence, glancing at each others plates to see how close to being done the other was, but never looking each other in the face.

Finally, after what felt like ten uncomfortable years, I put my fork down, done, and heard his clatter to his plate. I looked up to see him stretching his arms above his head and his mouth open in a wide yawn.

His shirt lifted to show a small stretch of his stomach and mine did a couple of cartwheels. When he looked towards me, he grinned and chuckled making me realize that my eyes were bugging and my mouth was an open cave for flies to take refuge.

I snapped it shut and rolled my eyes, standing up with my plate in my hands. I started to walk back the way we came, looking for a sink to drop off the dirty dishes, but ended up doing a couple spins not seeing one. On my fifth rotation, my nose ran into James' chest.

He chuckled some more.

"Lost?"

"No. I just can't find your sink."

"Just leave the plate on the table. The house-elves will clean it up."

"That's rude! Why would I make them do it when I am perfectly capable of doing it myself?"

"Because they actually enjoy doing those things. It makes them feel unappreciated when you do it for them. Like they're not needed or wanted. So just set it down and we'll be on our merry little way and we can finish that tour."

Sighing in defeat and feeling horribly guilty, I sat the plate back on the table but not before piling it on top of James' and stacking the silverware on it, making it an easier clean up for them.

It was James' turn to roll his eyes.

I glared at him.

"Come on. We have to finish this floor and then there's the outside to deal with," he said, walking towards the other side of the kitchen.

I reluctantly followed and we ended up in a second living room. This one was nicer and obviously the one that they used to entertain guests. Typically people put this one in the front and the other towards the back. I couldn't figure out why it was different here.

It was so…expensive looking! I was afraid to go any farther than the doorway. There were heavy drapes in all different fabrics covering the windows and throw blankets all over the sand colored seating. The tables all seemed to be marble and held unique lamps.

James walked farther into the room making his way through to the next door. Realizing I wasn't following him he turned around and gave a small smile.

"It's okay. You can come in. We aren't going to spend too much time in here 'cause I'm even scared to break something. Mum spent a lot of money on a designer to set this room up. She normally brings her work friends and important people straight back here. I haven't decided why she put the other one up front, either."

I nodded and carefully made my way towards him. He grabbed my hand and this time I let him without any hesitation or anger at him touching me. I would rather he lead me through this clutter so my clumsiness didn't kick in and I accidentally break something. And this time, when we made it to the other side and through the door, I didn't drop his hand immediately.

We seemed to be in a second little foyer with a door leading off to another section of the house.

"That door's just a bathroom. We don't have to look at it unless you have some weird fetish for bathrooms…you don't do you? If you do, I may have to rethink this friendship thing," he smirked.

I hit him in the chest. "I do not have a bathroom fetish. I don't particularly like bathrooms actually. They're gross. Even when they're pretty. So why'd you bring me through here if you just wanted to show me the bathroom door?"

"Because I'm showing you the back yard? I thought I already explained that."

"Oh. I wasn't paying attention. I was trying to avoid the breakable things," I cringed at the thought of what would have happened if I had broken something.

He laughed at my face. "Well where we're going you can't break anything unless you have immense strength," he joked. He opened the door and lead me onto a patio.

It was done in large stones with little pebbles in between them. There were bunches of flowers blooming on either side of it, giving it an Alice In Wonderland feeling. I squealed with excitement. Had I mentioned that I liked gardens?

James jumped a little in surprise at my outburst.

I dropped his hand and ran out to the little porch swing they had set up. The patio slimmed here and became a path. Flowers still lined the path but there weren't quite as many. A little ways off, it looked like the path ended and there was a large field of well kept grass. I could see three golden hoops rising in the distance and had to laugh condescendingly. He would have his own personal Quidditch pitch.

I didn't notice him coming up behind me and gave a start when I felt his breath on the back of my head. He must have been really close for me to feel it through all of my hair.

"I wish that wasn't here. When I made it onto the team, Dad had it built so I would never have to stop practicing."

I scoffed. Yeah right.

"It's true. I'm not proud of it. I hate it. It makes me feel like this rich kid who gets whatever he wants because his parents don't pay enough attention to him. They do. I know they love me. And they love Sirius. They would never have let him come in otherwise."

I didn't know what to say. What are you supposed to say when the conceited, rich kid explains that he hates it. It was almost like a teenage romance. The pretty nerd brings out the good side of the rich kid that he doesn't let anyone to see. I didn't think life happened like that. So I just ignored him.

"It's really pretty out here," I said quietly after a few minutes. I couldn't help thinking that this place would be prettier at sunset. And then the sunset lead to romantic ideas and those romantic ideas lead to romantic scenario's with James. I shook my head vigorously. Stupid teenage romance books.

"Yeah. It's my favorite place to come think by myself…did that sound as cheesy as I think it did?" he asked with a nervous laugh.

"It did. But it's okay. I would have said it too. Then again…I am a girl. We have the right to say that. What's your excuse? Is there something you aren't telling me, James?" I asked, a smirk on my face.

"Ummm…well you see. I've been meaning to tell you but-"

"Oh you sick, sick man!" I cried.

He bent over laughing and I ran off, down the path and towards the open field.

It seemed to be longer than I suspected. At first I didn't quite understand until I remembered we're magical and it was probably just an illusion put in place so you could see it better than normal.

My hair was flying, my heart was racing, and I could the feel the biggest smile I had had on my face in a long time, light up. It was thrilling.

I heard James running on the path behind me, and looked back to see how close he was. This turned out to be a bad idea. I immediately caught my toes on a stone and went flying forwards, face first.

James had too much momentum to stop and came tumbling down next to me.

My face hurt and my hands and knees were scratched up. James looked windswept and confused, obviously not having expected that to happen.

We looked each other in the eyes, and immediately started laughing. It was loud and crazy and went on for a long time.

Finally, not being able to feel my body and tears running down my face, I calmed down enough to catch a breath.

I laid on my back and looked up at the sky. It was still lightly raining; a fact I hadn't noticed until just now, and watched the clouds rolling and blending in together. I could tell that by night, it would be a full-fledged storm again. I wasn't looking forward to it. But at least I had someone to suffer through it with.

A/N: oh. My. I can't believe that I finally wrote it! I'm really sad though. I normally write it all up in my journal then rewrite and edit it while typing it up. This time I didn't do that for the sake of getting it up soon. I'm sure I'll go and write it down into my journal later. Maybe I'll just print out the pages and stick them in there. That might be easier….and better for my eyes. Anywho: well, I really hope you like it and I really hope that everyone who has waited for forever for this isn't either a: disappointed, or b: so mad at me that you're not reading this. Because that would be sad. But I get it. Soooooooooooooo! Review please! J it would make my day…literally.

MarahJ

p.s. you know what pisses me off? The fact that my word processor thinks my name is spelled wrong. L


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own the wonderful world of Harry Potter. Sad day.

A/N: Wow. It's been a while. There's no excuse for the length of time that I haven't posted. I was sixteen the last time I did. Now I'm six month and twenty-seven days away from turning eighteen! Crazy, I know. So, sorry for the long wait and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 9: Interruptions

Eventually, the rain became too much, and we headed back inside. It was a quiet walk but not a totally uncomfortable one. My brain felt at peace and I wanted to revel in the feeling a little longer. Because the place I was going to be next was in close proximity to Sirius and Petunia. And my mind sure wouldn't be peaceful then.

James and I found them sitting in the kitchen when we stopped to get a snack. They didn't seem to be doing anything, which worried us more than if they had. They could have been going at each other's necks and I would have felt less worried. But they just sat on opposite sides of the table, looking in different directions.

"Hey, guys. What're you up to?" James asked cautiously, trying not to set off a bomb.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. And where were you may I ask?" Sirius questioned.

"We went for a walk. Is that not allowed anymore?" I bit back.

"For your information, it's not. Walking was banned in this house the minute I came to live here," Sirius retaliated.

"Last time I checked, Sirius, you didn't make the rules. James can do whatever he wants. Stop acting like a jealous girlfriend."

"Just be quiet, Evans. I don't need your mouth today. I've already had to deal with your sisters."

"Oh, Merlin. What did you do, Petunia?"

"I didn't do anything! It's what he did that's wrong!" Petunia fumed, pointing to Sirius.

"Sirius, what did you do now?" James asked exasperatedly, rubbing at his face in frustration.

"It's not like I meant to. I was looking for James!"

"And do you normally walk in on your friends whilst they're using the facilities?" she questioned, glaring at him.

"Sirius!"

"I couldn't find you! The door was unlocked and the light was on so I thought maybe you were practicing making out with that picture of Evan- what was that for?" Sirius cried, rubbing at the shin that James had just kicked.

"Shut up, Sirius!" Turning to me with terror in his eyes he said, "That never happened. I don't even have a picture of you-"

"Yes, you do. It's under your mattress where you always keep it. Why are you lying, James?" Sirius asked.

"For the love of Merlin, Sirius, if you don't shut up I will make sure no girl in Hogwarts ever looks at you!" James said through clenched teeth.

"Well, why do you…oh. Sorry. But just so you know, no girl will ever look away from me. My dazzling good looks are like hypnosis to them. Well, at least the attractive ones," he sneered, glancing at Petunia.

"Uh! You are despicable. I can't wait till we leave this hell hole!" she shrieked, stomping out of the kitchen.

"Thank Merlin's beautiful daughter. I thought we've never get rid of her. What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

My eyes were narrowed in fury and I could feel the heat burning in my cheeks. "You shouldn't have done that. You're not allowed to say rude things to people you barely know, especially after walking in on them in the bathroom!" I exclaimed, trying to keep calm.

"It's not my fault that she didn't lock the door. Who doesn't lock the door? James, help me out," he pleaded, turning to James who had sunk into a chair and put his head in his hands.

"No, Sirius," he sighed. "I'm not going to help you out. That's the second guest you've walked in on in one day! Who's next? Their mother?"

"Not that that would be unpleasant, but-"

"That's gross, Black. Even for you." I stormed off to go find Petunia to try to calm her down. The rest of the day would be ruined if she didn't stop sulking. She'd make it hell for us.

"Petunia?" I knocked on her door quietly.

"Go away. I don't want to see you or your friends. You're all disgusting, vile, and cruel," she sniffled.

"Come on, Petunia, don't be like that. Sirius is like that with everyone, even his girlfriends. Nothing can rein him in," I tried to explain. I didn't like defending him, but it was the truth.

"I don't care. I just want everyone to go away. Just…please leave me alone, Lily. I don't want to talk," she said quietly.

"Fine. But I'm here if you need me," I assured her.

When I walked back into the kitchen, James and Sirius were sitting at the table, staring in opposite directions and not speaking. This was surprising. I didn't know they could be in each other's presence for more than five seconds without one of them guffawing at something the other said or did.

"Are you guys okay? You're really quiet," I observed, sitting in the chair next to James.

"I'm sorry for what I said about the picture, Lily. It was a lie. I was just trying to make you angry and annoy James," Sirius said as if reading from a script and staring at the floor.

"Apology accepted, even if I don't totally believe it."

"Sorry, Prongs. I tried. So what do you want to do now?" he asked, going from one extreme to the next, practically jumping out of his seat.

"Well, it's raining pretty hard so we shouldn't go anywhere…do you have any board games?" I asked.

"What's a board game?" asked Sirius, confusion clouding his face.

I immediately felt stupid. 7 years in the wizarding world. You think I'd know that they don't really play board games with the exception of chess.

"Never mind. They're a sort of muggle game. You won't have any," I sighed. I sunk back into my chair, crossed my arms over my chest, and stared at my feet. I was at a complete loss as to what to do.

We had been sitting in silence for 5 minutes, no one having come up with anything in that time, when it hit me.

"Ninja!" I exclaimed, jumping out of my chair.

"Is that like a new word you're trying out instead of 'eureka'?" James asked, staring at me oddly.

"No. It's a game I used to play with my muggle friends when we were little. It's more fun with a large group of people but it'll work. We just need a little bit of space. Do you know where we could play?" I looked to James for a direction to head in.

"We could move the table and couch out of the way in the family room. We have to move it back but that should be enough space," he said, getting up and walking towards the other room.

Sirius jumped up and followed behind us, asking questions all the way.

"What is this game exactly?"

"A game where we pretend to be ninjas," I explained.

"Yes, but what do we do?"

"I'll tell you when we get there."

"How do we win?"

"I'll explain when I tell you how to play."

"What's the prize?"

"There isn't one. You just win."

"What?"

His volume surprised me and I turned to see him standing with his mouth open, looking at me in a crazy way.

"What do you mean 'what'?"

"You can't play a game without a prize! That's unheard of!" he gasped.

"You play games all the time without prizes. Wizards chess, exploding snap, even Quidditch is prize less until the match for the cup," I explained.

"That's not true. The prize for Quidditch is the most points of the game and the privilege to rub it in the other house's face-"

"You do know that you're not actually supposed to do that, right?

"Hush. I'm not done. Anyway, I don't play chess so I really couldn't tell you about that. That game is just too logical. But exploding snap has a prize! The prize is getting to laugh at the other person's scorched face and their lack of eyebrows," he said.

"Those aren't prizes, Sirius."

"Yes, they are! It's in the handbook!"

"What handbook?"

"The handbook of game prizes."

"Sirius you are totally making this up and-"

"I will not play unless there's a prize," he said, defiantly crossing his arms.

"Find. The prize is that…you're an…official ninja!" I made up.

"Whoa! That's awesome!"

"Sure. Now let's just-"

"Are you two going to stand in there and babble all day or are we playing this game?" James called from the other room.

"Coming," we hollered back, heading for the door.

We moved the couch and coffee table up against the wall and stood in a circle, facing each other.

"Now, what you do is you bow to your 'sensei' who isn't real so just bow to the middle and then strike a ninja pose. The first person tries to hit someone's hand and if they do, that person is out. You can only take one move each turn, and we take turns in clockwise fashion. You can only use your hands and you can only hit other hands. So don't go putting your hands in uncomfortable places and don't hit anyone in an awkward place. Sirius, please remember that rule. Now let's start."

"Wait! What's the prize, Lily?" Sirius reminded me.

"The prize is induction into the ninja society," I sighed. "Now, bow to your sensei." And we bowed.

A/N: I hoped you all enjoyed that. It took me maybe half an hour to write after I finished my chemistry test, which I think I did pretty well on so I'm excited. Ninja is a real game that a lot of us theatre kids like to play in our free time and I recommend you try it if you have an eccentric group of people who aren't afraid of touching others. It's a great game. I'm in the process of writing the next chapter so hopefully you all won't have that long of a wait this time. Review please! Let me know if I'm doing something wrong, if you want to see something happen in the next few chapters (I'm open to suggestions), or if you just want to say random things. Bye!

-Marah


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't have a mind like J.K. Rowling's. Only like mine. Which doesn't function properly at 10:44 at night.

A/N: So, yes. This chapter is coming late, but at least it's ten times earlier than the last one I posted! I'm proud of myself. I've forgone reading for the time being to finish this story. So here's the next chapter, brought to you by the inner workings of my mind.

Chapter 10: The Rest of the Night

Our hour of ninja was made up of many laughs, all three of us being inducted into the ninja society, and a whole lot of inappropriate touching on Sirius's part.

James' parents came home in the middle of a particularly odd situation that probably caused James's dad to worry about the sexuality of his son.

The rest of the evening progressed quickly and before I knew it, it was dinner time.

If I didn't think that I'd ever be friends with James Potter and staying at his house for my summer break, I definitely never thought I'd be sitting down with my family at the same table as James Potter and his family having a nice dinner.

"So, Lily. Tell us more about yourself. Your parents talked about you and Petunia so much today that I feel like we already know you as well as James but I want to know what goes on inside that head. What do you plan on doing after school?" Mrs. Potter asked curiously.

Swallowing a particularly large bite of steak that I had just shoved in my mouth, I blanched.

I had thought about my career, obviously, but I hadn't decided on anything yet. I had always fancied the idea of going into journalism. It was what I wanted to do before I ever even found out about the wizarding world. But lately I had been leaning towards healing.

"Umm…I don't actually…I mean…I just…"

"No need to worry, sweetie. Mr. Potter and I didn't know either. It's a natural thing. We all change our minds as we get older," she assured me.

I laughed nervously. "I guess you're right."

"Well, Petunia, honey, what do you want to do?" Mrs. Potter asked, turning to my older sister.

I sighed with relief as the attention was diverted from me. James grabbed my hand under the table from his spot beside me, giving it a comforting squeeze.

I gave him a soft smile, showing my thanks, and tuned back into the conversation, not letting go of his hand.

"Well, James, what do you want to do?" my parents asked him.

I missed Petunias answer altogether.

"Sirius and I plan on being Aurors after school."

"Like father like son. Well, sons really," Mr. Potter said, looking at the grinning boys proudly.

"What is that? I don't think Lily's mentioned it before," my mum asked, intrigued by the new information about the wizarding world.

"They fight the bad guys. Always in the thick of things, Aurors are. They're like superheroes!" Sirius claimed enthusiastically.

"I wouldn't go that far, m'boy," Mr. Potter said, running his hand through his hair, causing it to stick up at all different angles, embarrassed.

"Huh. So that's where he gets it from," I thought, smiling slightly.

"They're basically like your ordinary, muggle police officers," Mr. Potter went on to explain.

"Oh, that's interesting. Do you have normal crimes in your world? I imagine with magic, things must be pretty easy to come by. No thievery or any of that nonsense," Dad said, always the inquisitor.

"Don't be fooled by the sparks and colors, Paul. We don't get everything as easily as some think. We do however deal mostly with dark wizards. Dangerous people. We've got all kinds of different departments at the ministry that deal with different legalities. We're well covered," Mr. Potter explained.

My dad nodded in understanding.

"Look at the time! Dear, we really should be getting ready if we're to leave on time," Mrs. Potter exclaimed, getting up and pulling her husband wither.

"Where are you going? I thought the ministry party was tomorrow?" James asked.

"We bumped into some friends while in town today and they invited us to a game night. Your girls' parents are coming too. So if you need something, floo us. I'll leave you the address, Jams," Mrs. Potter said.

"Okay. Have a fun night!" he told them.

"We'll be back late so don't wait up, and can you please clean up dinner while we're out? I can trust you boys with that, right? The girls don't have to do anything. You're our guests. We're running late, honey. We need to be going," Mrs. Potter said, giving James and Sirius quick kisses on the cheek. "Behave and don't break anything," she continued, moving to give Petunia and I a hug.

I stood up and returned it. It was nice, like being hugged by a family member. Petunia barely put her arms around her.

"Bye, girls. And please help pick up dinner," Dad whispered in my ear.

I nodded in answer and turned to hug my mum.

"Be good. Don't fight with your sister. I'll see you when you wake up tomorrow. And you better be alone, in you're own bed" She kissed me lightly on the forehead after giving me a stern look, and they all left to have their adult night.

"Bye, children! James, keep Sirius under control!" Mr. Potter called from the front door.

"Better yet, Lily, keep the boys under control!" Mrs. Potter corrected as they left.

With a final thud, our parents were gone.

"Clean up time!" I ordered, standing up and starting to pick up plates.

"Lily, you don't have to do that. Like my parents said, you're our guest. You don't need to be cleaning up," James said, trying to take the plates I had just picked up from me.

"And it's rude to just sit there and watch you. We all made this mess. We'll all clean it up."

"Bloody crazy, woman. Why would you willingly do the cleaning? That's what the house elves are for," Sirius said, lounging back in his dinner chair.

"Well Mrs. Potter told us to clean up and I'm going to do what she said. She's letting my family stay until we can get back on the way to our camping trip. It's only right to repay the favor," I argued, balancing more plates on my arms as I went.

"She's right, Padfoot. Even if I don't agree with her helping," James began, giving me a pointed stare, "Mum did say to clean up. And it's Friday. The house elves always have Friday off, remember?"

"Fine," he grumbled. "But don't think I'm helping with dishes. That's just disgusting," he complained, shuddering at the thought.

"Well, you three have fun. I'm going to go do something that doesn't involve hanging around you freaks," Petunia sneered, pushing away from the table and heading to make her exit.

"Petunia, Dad said we both have to help," I told her.

"And I'm sure the four of us will make a great team. With me far away from you." She ran out of the room before I could say anything more.

I rolled my eyes and followed the boys into the kitchen.

"Okay, this is how it's going to work," I said, getting the boys' attention from the game of ninja they were trying to start. "James, you'll wash the dishes, I'll dry, and Sirius, you can put them away," I ordered.

"Why can't I dry?" Sirius complained.

"I thought you didn't want to help at all!"

"Well I don't. But if I'm being forced to, I don't want to spend my time lifting heavy objects above my head," he tried to reason.

"But you know where the dishes go. I don't. So you're going to put them away, and you're going to get over it," I demanded.

"Blimey. Do you think you could have picked more of a bossy pants, Prongs? I don't know if I like this. Soon she'll be telling me to stop hanging around women!"

"Padfoot. Just shut up and listen to her," James sighed, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt and starting to tackle the dishes.

Sirius rolled his eyes and we began our chores.

That night before bed, my life was filled with tons of dish soap suds, dirty water, and more inappropriate touching on Sirius's part. I mean, seriously. I let it slide during ninja – there isn't really a way to avoid all inappropriate touching in that game – but there was no reason for it while doing the dishes! It was completely unacceptable.

We finished the night off watching old sitcoms in the family room and when the clock struck one, we decided it was time to head to bed.

I instantly got nervous. It was still storming outside. Our parents weren't home. Petunia was too busy hating me to care. I mean, James and I hadn't really set up that we would stay together again, but I couldn't stand being alone. If Sirius weren't falling asleep where he stood, I would try to keep us up watching T.V. But then again, the T.V. had been flickering all night and the storm seemed to be getting worse. It wouldn't last much longer in this weather.

We finally got Sirius to stand up and walk zombie-like to his room and when his door closed, an uneasy silence fell in the hallway. Neither of us knew what to do.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," I whispered, looking at my hands. If he wanted me to stay, he'd have to ask. I wouldn't do it on my own.

"Yeah," he sighed, "tomorrow. 'Night, Evans," he teased, punching me lightly on the arm.

I smiled. "'Night, Potter." I turned and started shuffling back to my room. I had almost reached the door when I felt someone turn me around and wrap me in a hug. I held on for dear life, scared of being left alone.

James pulled away, picking up my hand and pulling me along to his room.

He slowly pushed the door open and led me inside.

I lied down on the bed and he covered me up, lying down next to me on top of the covers.

We turned to face each other, breathing lightly into each other's faces.

"What's your favorite color?" James asked randomly.

I laughed softly before answering. "Purple, why?"

"Well, if we're spending our nights together we should get to know each other and become better friends."

"Oh. Okay. Well…what's your favorite color?"

"Green."

"Of course it is," I sighed.

"Don't worry. It always has been. Ever since I was little. That's probably why I find your eyes so beautiful," he said, reaching his hand up to rub his thumb along my check.

"James. Please. You're making this a lot harder than it needs to be," I pleaded.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, pulling his hand away.

"Sometimes, I can't resist it."

"Try harder."

He sighed."I am trying. Trust me, I am. I don't want to ruin this before it gets started."

"I just need more time," I whispered, looking away from him.

"I understand," he paused. "Is holding your hand something a friend would do for a scared friend?" he asked nervously, his voice shaking.

"I think that would be acceptable." I reached over and grabbed his hand, intertwining our fingers together. My body seemed to relax and my mind drifted into a peaceful haze. Distantly, I remembered my mum's warning about being in my own bed. But I figured as long as I was out of the room by the time she woke up, I'd be okay. And besdies, the sounds of the storm didn't scare me with James by my side.

A/N: Did you like it? Did you hate it? Did you die a little on the inside with how boring it was? However you felt about it, you should review! It would make my night.

Marah


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I also don't own any more creative ways to say it. I wonder if I could buy some...

A/N: Long time, no see. That's my fault and I don't necessarily have a reason, just know that I am truly sorry. But I'm hoping with the summer coming up and me heading off to college, I'll get the push I need to finish this story once and for all. And hopefully the sequel. If I still write it. I'm having a hard time thinking of things to do in this story...HELP ME! Without further adu (ado?), here is chapter 11.

Chapter 11: Pancakes are Filling

James and I stayed up for hours, talking and laughing and having an all together good time. It was scary and amazing how I could be perfectly open and comfortable around the boy who just a few days ago I had despised. I knew that people changed but I didn't think they changed that quickly. In those quiet hours, with the storm raging on and our breath mingling together, we learned a lot about each other. I learned that his favorite animal was a stag for reasons he wouldn't mention, if he could live off any food for the rest of his life it'd be strawberries, and he had originally become friends with Sirius because he had looked just as lonely on the platform when neither of their parents dropped them off; for entirely different reasons, but they still shared in the same heartache.

I told him all about my family and how different it was switching from witch to muggle every summer. We poured our thoughts and feelings to each other till we could no longer talk and ended up drifting off into a peaceful sleep, him on top of the covers, me under them, facing each other, our hands still intertwined.

I woke up the next morning, feeling an empty space next to me, and sensing a just a little bit of light, the beginnings of sunset, trying to peep through the curtain covered windows. I sat up, rubbing my bleary eyes, and looked around for the slightly messsy haired boy that was sending my emotions into a whirlwind. I felt panic rising in my chest when I didn't immediately see him, but a gentle snore drifted up from the left side of the bed and I rolled over to find him sleeping in what looked like an umcomfortable position on the floor.

I quietly slipped my feet out under the covers and laid them softly on the floor so as not to wake him. I stepped over him and was about to open the door and head to the bathroom when I heard him mumble something in between two particularly loud snores. I waited with bated breath, hand on the knob, to see if he would say anything else. But the snores kept coming in a continuous, steady stream, and I figured it was a fluke.

I let out a break I had been holding and opened the door, trying to keep it from squeaking, before I silently crept down the hall to the bathroom. As I was washing my hands, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. My hair was starting frizz out from the night of sleep and the scratches on my face were finally starting to scab over. I didn't look terrible, but I could have looked better. I sighed heavily and flicked water on my hair to try and tame it, then quickly threw it up in a messy knot on the top of my head when I decided it wasn't working.

Back in the hall, all was quiet save for the gentle snores coming from behind each door that roomed a person, Sirius's being the loudest. I giggled lightly and, shaking my head, quickly walked back across the hall to James's door. I pushed it open slowly, ducking my head around to make sure I wouldn't hit him on the head, and then quietly closed it behind me.

"James," I breathed, gently shaking his shoulder. "James, wake up," I tried again.

He mumbled uninteligble things and buried his face even deeper into his pillow.

Shaking my head, and laughing quietly, I leaned back against the wall, and watched him sleep. Eventually, the sun started the rise and more light seeped out from behind the curtains, bathing the room in a soft, warm glow. I sighed and shook his shoulder again, murmuring his name.

"James. It's time to wake up. If you don't your parents or Sirius will come in and catch us again. Then we'll both be in trouble and my family will leave. Do you want that happening?"

He continue snoring.

Standing up, I stretched and headed quickly to the curtains. I threw them open, flooding the room with sunlight and sufficiently jolting James awake. His head popped up over the side of the bed and he sleepily look around, trying to make sense of his surroundings.

"Was goin on?" he asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes and reaching for his glasses on the nightstand.

"It's time to get up. We need to make it look like I didn't sleep in here," I explained, starting to make the bed.

"You don't have to do that," James said, coming to stand beside me.

"It's fine. I don't expect you to do it, so I'll just do it for you," I said, giving him a big grin.

"You are so strange," James laughed, leaning his head down and laying it on my shoulder. I was wearing only a tanktop and some drawstring pants, and his breath was tingling my skin, causing goosebumps to stir along it.

"You need to put a shirt on," I breathed, glancing down at his bare chest. When had he gotten like that? I had defintiely fallen asleep with him wearing a shirt. If he didn't put one on soon I was going to start doing unimaginable things.

He chuckled lightly and pulled away, leaving the area of skin he had just been resting on cold and empty feeling. He walked to the closet and shuffled around, looking for a clean shirt.

As I finished making the bed, I stared at his back, watching the muscles move under the golden skin as he rummaged around.

"I can feel you staring at me," he gloated, looking under his arm at my face.

I felt my face flush and quickly turned toward the door. "I'm gonna go change and freshen up," I said, opening the door. "Make sure Sirius doesn't walk in on me again." I heard him laugh loudly as I closed the door behind me and made my way down the hall.

When I walked through the door, I was struck by how little time I had spent in the room that was suppossed to be mine. My bed was still mostly made, a little rumpled from the nap I had taken our first night here, and my suitcase was still sitting neatly open at the foot of the bed on the wooden chest. I instantly felt bad. Here I was, staying in someone else's house and they had given me such a nice room but instead of using it, I was defying their wishes and sleeping in their sons bed anyway. I would have to rectify this situation as soon as possible. Maybe we'd spend the night in this room for the next couple of nights. Just until the storm blew over.

I grabbed some clothes, a light blue sundress, and headed out the door to take a shower. This time, it went smoothly and I was interrupted by no one. I got to appreciate the shower more and it was even better than the last time I had stood in it.

As I was standing in the mirror and running my fingers through the few tangles left in my hair, I heard a knock at the door. Expecting it to be Petunia from the force of the knock, I was surprised to see Mrs. Potter on the other side of the door.

"Oh, Mrs. Potter. Did you need something? Sorry I took so long," I apologized quickly.

"It's quite alright, dear. I was just wondering if you would like to have a girls day today. Your mum thought it would be a good idea after the fight yesterday and I thought we could all use a little shopping excursion," she explained, her light voice holding a note of hopefullness.

"That sounds lovely, Mrs. Potter. When do we leave?"

She smiled brightly and I smiled back, happy to please her. "Well, your parents and Petunia are still asleep so I assume we'll leave after lunch. Does that sound alright to you? I'm sure you can find some form of entertainment with my son," she tinkled with laughter.

"I'm sure I could," I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. Oh no. I hoped it wasn't addicting. "Sepaking of your son, do you know where he's at?" I asked, trying to hide the blush that was creeping up my neck.

"I think I saw him in the kitchen about ten minutes ago. He's always eating so that's probably a safe place to look," she smiled.

"Thank you," I said, following her out the door and down the hall towards the stairs. "For everything. You know, letting us stay here and everything. You don't have to do it and it's just a really nice thing to do for perfect strangers," I explained, following her towards the kitchen.

"Oh, I wouldn't say we're perfect strangers. After all, I've been hearing about you every summer and in every letter since James's first year at Hogwarts. You've made quite an impact on his life, Lily," she chuckled. "I've never seen that boy so enthusiastic about something before."

I blushed even more and was immediately thankful that she was in front of me. We finally made it to the kitchen and found the boys sitting around the table, scarfing down their weight in pancakes.

"Well, Lily. Here they are. I'll leave you with them. I must go get ready for later," she said, excitement evident on her face.

She walked off and I shook my head, wondering what she could be talking about. I had thought she was already ready in a pair of jeans and a nice shirt. How much more ready could you get? I shuffled over to the table, mouth starting to water.

"Well, hullo, Lily-flower," my dad said as I sat down across from him and next to James. "Did you get a good nights sleep? I know how the storm keeps you up," he said, concern in his tone and face.

"Yeah. I slept better than I ever have during one," I choked, avoiding James's stare at all costs. He reached over and grabbed my hand under the table, twining our fingers together.

With my free hand, I picked up my fork and started piling pancakes on my plate, then getting them ready to eat. It really should have been illegal for food to taste so good. Because all I ever wanted to do was eat it but I had to worry about other things like not getting fat. It was just too much of a hassel. If it was disgusting I wouldn't have such a problem.

As Mr. Potter, Dad, and Sirius finished their breakfast, they all stood up and slowly made their way out of the kitchen.

"So what are your plans for the day?" I asked James, shoving pancakes in my mouth.

He swallowed a particularly big bite he had just taken, making a large gulping sound, before answering. "Well, I thought we could maybe go to Diagon Alley today. With our parents here, they can look after the other two and keep them from murdering each other," he laughed, rolling his eyes.

I frowned. "Well, I wish we could but your mum already planned a girls day out for us. I thought maybe you knew and you all were making plans over breakfast," I said quietly, avoiding his gaze.

"Oh." He sounded dissapointed and I looked at him as he tried to hide the hurt etched on his face.

"I'm sorry. I can always go tell your mum I'm not feeling well and we can spend the rest of the day playing games," I offered, wanting nothing more than to take that pain away from his eyes.

He smiled lightly and shook his head. "No. I wouldn't want to dissapoint Mum that way. Merlin knows that now that she's finally met you she wants nothing more than to get to know you," he mumbled out.

"Why would she want to do that?" I asked, curious.

"Seriously? You can't think of any reason?" He glared softly at me, making me feel a little insecure.

"No. I honestly can't think of anything."

"Somtimes you are so thick, Lily." He shook his head and laughed lightly.

"Well sorry we can't all of the mind of Einstein," I grumbled, pulling my hand from his finally.

"Who?"

"Oh, nevermind."

A/N: Okay. So it's sort of just a filler chapter till I think of more things to write. I'll hopefully have more up within a week or two, but I'm not making any promises because I'm terrible at keeping deadlines and I gradute next week. But I hope this was enough to keep you occupied even if it isn't much. Please review with any ideas you may have or questions or comments or concerns. Whatever it is, I'll try and answer you back if you need one. Thanks for reading! Have a great day/night/evening/morning/goodnights sleep.

Marah


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Hi guys (I say sheepishly). So it's been a long time. Almost a year. Remember how last time I promised to have one up with a month? Haha. I'm so funny. But, all regrets aside, I am pleased to bring you this next chapter. Which I don't know how to feel about. It's basically just a way to get a little bit of conflict in the story so I have a way to end it. Word of advice: when beginning a story, MAKE SURE YOU KNOW HOW IT ENDS! Maybe not specifically but don't go into a story blind and just wander through. Because then stories end up longer than you anticipated them to be (not a bad thing) and take twice as long to write (a terrible thing when you have people counting on you). So just…know what you're doing. Hope you enjoy it! I'm not dumb enough to make any promises as to when the next chapter will be out.

Chapter 12: Decisions Were Made This Night…or Day

After breakfast I ran upstairs and quickly finished getting ready, throwing on a bit of makeup and wrangling my hair into a more manageable style. With the monster tamed I grabbed my purse and headed back downstairs.

Mum and Mrs. Potter were already waiting in the foyer for me, giggling like school girls about Merlin only knows what.

"Oh, Lily. Are you ready to go then?" Mrs. Potter asked when I reached the bottom of the stairs.

I nodded my head and started towards the door when Mum grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Why don't you go get a sweater? It's still drizzling outside and it's chilly," she worried, like only a mother could.

"I think I'll be fine. We won't be spending much time outside, will we?"

"I hadn't planned on it. I figured we'd shop the muggle way today. And there isn't much in the way of downtown shopping when it comes to that. There's really just a mall," Mrs. Potter explained.

I looked at Mum and gave her a smug, satisfied smile before skipping to the door. I heard her sigh loudly behind me and they followed me to the car.

Mum was right, however. The weather was a bit nippy and the wind was blowing the rain right at us. I quickly climbed in the backseat, trying not to shiver and chatter my teeth. I would not let Mum have the satisfaction of being right.

I pulled my seatbelt across me and we pulled out of the driveway.

Thankfully the entire drive to the mall involved a lot of middle-aged gossip. How two people who have only known each other for a few days can find things to gossip about baffles me. I can hardly find things to talk about with friends that I'd had for nearly seven years now. Where exactly did the social wellness that my mother so obviously possessed go when I was born? Because it sure as hell didn't land in my DNA. But all that talking between them gave me time to think about my current situation with a certain boy-who-shall-not-be-named without him interrupting me with his goofy grin or anything else.

What was I honestly going to do about this? I liked him. I was finally willing to admit that to myself after two years. But was that enough to throw myself into a potentially (and most likely) doomed relationship. I saw how it always worked with his past girlfriends. He'd date them for a few weeks and then he'd get bored and break up with them, usually leaving them to Sirius for rebound sex. But I refused to be a statistic in his life. I couldn't knowingly put myself through that.

But then there was the growing possibility that it was different with us. I used to think that he only chased after me for the thrill. I was just something that he couldn't have and that was frustrating for the rich and famous preppy boy who was used to getting whatever he wanted. But that didn't seem right anymore. His family was a real family; down to earth and everything. And these past few days with him had been great. I had really gotten to know him and I let him get to know me…and he wasn't running. Granted how far could the kid run from someone who was staying in his own house?

It was all very confusing. In the most simple of explanations, I liked him, he seemed to like me, but he had a reputation for heartbreak and I was stubborn. There were too many variables. Maybe it would be in everyone's best interests if we just stopped what we were doing and became friends. Then we couldn't break up and Mum and Dad could stay friends with the Potters and our friends wouldn't have to choose sides and Tuney wouldn't be able to rub in my face that I couldn't even keep a wizard as a boyfriend. Yes. We would just have to be friends. I would let him know as soon as this shopping trip was over.

As I came to my final conclusion, we pulled into the parking lot of the mall and I took my time getting out of the car. The entrance was a long ways away and I really should have grabbed at least a cardigan. But the rebellious teenager in me had been acting up and now I was stupid and freezing. I swung the door open and felt a very cold burst of air hit my face and turn my nose into a red, dripping mess. Wrapping my arms around myself, I briskly walked to the doors, leaving Mum and Mrs. Potter behind.

As I flung the door open and walked inside, I was expecting warm air to cover my body. Unfortunately, the mall apparently didn't believe in heaters and it was colder than the dungeons at Hogwarts inside. I shivered violently and wished for a hug from James before I realized that friends didn't think things like that and I needed to get my brain under control.

Finally, the other two made it inside and we officially started our girls' day. We started off going to all the expensive boutiques that seemed to be in abundance here. Apparently they needed to find new dresses for some ministry party tonight, and the theme was dress like a muggle. I should have known they weren't taking me on a girls' day just to be nice. They just needed an expert opinion on their clothing choices. Well they should have gotten someone else like Petunia, or better yet, Sirius. He at least seemed to think he was an expert. I barely knew how to dress myself. It must have been the lack of variety at school. A uniform didn't give me leniency to fun outfits.

The first store we stopped in was thankfully a department store. While they wandered off to look at the gowns, I meandered my way to the shoes. Lack of fun outfits at school aside, I did have a shoe obsession. What woman didn't? I was known for buying ridiculous shoes that I had no place to wear them too and leaving them in my closet for years. And even the shoes that were more practical got left there as often as I could go barefoot. But I liked pretty things to decorate my feet and whenever I was having an off day, a pair of shoes was just the right pick me up.

As I was walking up and down the aisles, peering into boxes of flats and sandals and pumps, I heard a sudden screech and the sound of shoes hitting the floor. I turned the corner of the row I was in and glanced into the next to find a woman sitting in the most hideous of wedding dresses ever thought up. Ruffles upon ruffles, lace and tulle, sequins galore, and I think I even caught sight of a few feather. If you could name it, you could see it.

After my eyes adjusted to such a monstrosity, I glanced to the face of the woman wearing it. She seemed to be in her early twenties, no more than five years older than me. The makeup that she probably paid a lot to have done, was running all over her face and her hair that seemed to have been in some type of elaborate up-do was falling out into a haphazard mess.

I approached her carefully, trying to wipe the horrified look from my face.

"Ma'am? Ma'am, are you okay?" I asked quietly when I reached her.

"Does it look like I am okay?" she screamed in a shrill voice.

"You have a point, there. But are you going to be okay? Is there someone you need to me to call?"

"I just want a pair of shoes! The perfect pair! But I can't find any…in my size!" She threw another heel into the aisle, narrowly missing my face.

"Okay, ma'am. Can you please just tell me what happened? Maybe I can help," I pleaded with her.

"All-all I wanted was for this-this day to be perfect. It- it-it was my wedding day! It was supposed to be p-p-p-perfect!" She broke out into more tears and not of the quiet sort.

"Ma'am, I'm going to need you to calm down. I'm sure whatever it is, it couldn't be that bad."

"Not that bad?" The tears had stopped and now she was glaring at me with a face that brought a whole new light to 'if looks could kill.' "Not. That. Bad? Five minutes before walking down the aisle that was _perfectly _decorated, I found out that the 'love of my life' slept with my 'sister!' Would you call that 'not that bad'?" she yelled.

"Okay. Okay I see your point. That's actually probably the worst thing that could ever happen to a wedding. But…but you'll be okay. Eventually. I think...," I trailed off, not knowing exactly how to deal with this kind of situation. Wasn't it akin to the situation I was avoiding by not dating James? I did not want to be as broken as the woman before me. I doubted that James would ever sleep with Tuney, but sleep with other girls…now that wouldn't surprise me as much.

"I'm gonna kill him. Him and her and everyone!" she muttered. She started rocking back and forth.

I realized that I should probably leave now and get a manager. There was no telling what this woman would do in her condition anymore.

I walked away as quietly as possible, hoping that she wouldn't notice I was going to get help.

"Sir," I tried to tell the first worker I saw as quietly as possible, "there's a woman over there. I honestly don't know how you could have missed her, but anyway. She's throwing shoes around and seems to be in pretty bad shape. I think you should probably call security."

"Thank you, miss. We've got in under control. Security has been called and they're on their way," he explained with a small smile.

I smiled back and nodded my head before heading off to the evening wear. This day wasn't getting any better. If I talked myself out of dating James before then this was just the cherry on top of everything else. There was no way I could let that happen to myself. And it would undoubtedly happen. That was just James. Friends is all we could ever be.

I found Mum and Mrs. Potter just outside of the dressing rooms talking to another woman that I didn't recognize.

"Oh, Lily. You're all right! I was so worried. There's a lunatic on the loose in here! This nice woman has been explaining it all to us. Apparently she escaped from the mental hospital, went a robbed a wedding dress shop, and is now telling everyone that her sister slept with her fiancé! Stay close to us the rest of the day, okay, sweetie? I don't want you getting hurt." She pulled me into a bone crushing hug that given my short stature, shoved my face into her chest, which wasn't a comfortable place to be.

"Mum. Mum, I can't breathe. Lunatics won't matter if you don't let me get oxygen to my lungs," I wheezed out.

"Oh, yes. You're right. Well, Mrs. Potter and I are done looking here. They don't really seem to have anything that screams ball. Is there any place you would like to go before we continue looking? This is a girls' day after all," she said as she smoothed the loose hair behind my ears.

"No. I'm okay. I don't really need anything. But thanks."

As we left the store I thought of the woman back there. Was she really crazy? Was that story really true? I guess I would never know. But that didn't change my mind about James. That was always going to be set in stone.

A/N: I hope you liked it? People, I don't know how to feel. Spring Break starts tomorrow and my mind is on other things. Like midterms. But I'm bored at work and I'm tired of studying so this is what came about. The story of the bride actually was a short story I wrote for class last semester. I'm happy that I got to use it somewhere actual people might read it. Have a fun time! And if you're a lucky (oh, so lucky) college student, good luck on midterms if you have any of those.

Marah


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